


Shadow of a New Age

by KingRex0830



Category: Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic (Video Games), Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Friendship, Homesickness, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 42,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24346702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingRex0830/pseuds/KingRex0830
Summary: Sith Emperor Vitiate's defeat came at the terrible cost of Revan's life - or so everyone thought. Propelled to a different era by the will of the Force, Revan must not only learn to cope with a new galaxy, but fight yet another war, a war unlike any Revan had seen, a war controlled by a hidden puppet-master - the Clone War.
Comments: 196
Kudos: 274





	1. Prologue

The Dark Side of the Force was strong in the Sith Emperor Vitiate. Stronger than anything Revan had ever faced before.

But Revan was strong, too. Stronger than the Emperor anticipated. He used that to his advantage.

Behind him, Meetra Surik and Lord Scourge battled the remaining Imperial Guards, Meetra desperately trying to get to Revan.

The Emperor was capable of destroying entire worlds and dominating minds with his will. If he was to be released upon the galaxy, it would be destroyed.

Revan wouldn't let that happen. If he had to die to stop it, so be it. If he could never see his family again, so be it. Whatever he could do to stop it, he would do.

Vitiate's resolve proved just as strong. Casting an unending stream of lightning at Revan, he made sure he would not be defeated. But Revan stood strong, absorbing the lightning at the palms of his hands.

He could feel Scourge having second thoughts about all of this behind him. The Sith Lord would never admit it, but he was afraid. The Emperor would use that fear. Scourge was a liability.

The Emperor stood with his arms raised, confident in his ability to achieve victory. He knew no one could challenge him, not even the Jedi Master called Revan standing before him. But the Emperor wasn't omniscient.

Revan stood his ground, the energy dissipating at his palms, the balance within him quelling the darkness within Vitiate. Neither would allow themselves to lose.

The Emperor felt surprised at Revan's unbreaking resilience, and he grew fearful as the Jedi stood his ground, no matter how much hate Vitiate poured into his lightning. He would not - nay, could not - die.

Vitiate feared death. He feared nothing else, but his fear of death was greater than that of any other. This was why he has reigned for a thousand years. If he lost, he lost all of the power he had accumulated. This was why he would not allow himself to lose.

Revan feared for his family. His priority was the preservation of life, and his beloved wife and now three year old son reminded him of that daily. If he lost, his family and all others either died or became slaves. This was why he would not allow himself to lose.

Vitiate's calm demeanor grew more fearful as he saw Revan resist the outburst of dark power. Vitiate bent his knees and gritted his teeth as he intensified the lightning. But Revan continued to hold his ground.

"One thousand years!" the Emperor shouted. "One thousand years of building my infinite power! One thousand years of ensuring my unending reign! And you believe you can defeat me!?"

Revan didn't respond, but he did do what the Emperor thought impossible: he took a step forward.

Meetra and Scourge, having finished their battles, looked on, both knowing better than to get too close. Scourge's armor shuddered and Meetra's layered robes flapped as this exchange continued before them.

Revan took another step forward as the Emperor intensified his lightning, intent on achieving victory. He would not be stopped. He would not allow it.

But Revan would.

As he took a third step forward, the lightning began moving from the palms of his hands to directly in front of them.

Slowly, the lightning distanced itself as Revan called not on the Light Side, or even the Dark Side, but the Force itself. He could feel his robes singing and his mask burning, but he persisted.

The Emperor unleashed the Force in its darkest form. Revan unleashed it in it's purest. The clash of the Force between the two was cracking the floor beneath them. The Emperor's lightning was now closer to himself than it was to Revan.

"Impossible," the Emperor muttered as he sensed his defeat.

"Then you spent a thousand years honing nothing but fear!" Revan responded as he focused his strength for one, final outburst. "And now your weakness shall be made manifest."

There was an explosion of blinding, bright light. Meetra shielded her eyes, but she felt no pain. If anything, it was soothing. She felt the Force flowing strongly within her, and she felt peace, strength, harmony, and most of all, balance.

When she could see again, she looked. The Emperor was gone. She looked to her right. So was Scourge.

She had a satisfied smile on her face as she got up, using T3-M4, who was beside her, as support.

"Did you _have_ to kill Scourge, Revan?" Meetra questioned. There was no response.

Meetra's smile faded when she saw that Revan wasn't there. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief. She looked up. She looked behind her.

"Revan?" she called out, but there was no answer. "Revan!? T3, where's Revan!?"

She looked all around her. There was nothing.

"He's gone..." she lamented. A tear fell down her cheek as her mind raced. What would she tell Bastila? Carth? Mandalore?

This couldn't be happening. How could it? How could he be gone?

Vitiate was defeated, but at a terrible cost. All who knew Revan would take comfort in knowing he didn't die in vain. But it still hurt.

Little did she know what had actually become of him.

It is often said that the Force works in strange and mysterious ways.

This may be the finest example of that.

**STAR WARS: SHADOW OF A NEW AGE**


	2. Familiar Where, Unfamiliar When

Revan awoke with a jump in the streets of Coruscant. His robes were tattered and singed, and his mask was steaming when he cast it off his face, leaving an imprint of it burned into his face.

He panted for breath as a sense of unfamiliarity overwhelmed him. There was something different about Coruscant. Everything seemed newer, and the clouds were much closer. He looked around, and he recognized nothing in the alleyway.

He walked out of the alley and tried in vain to shrug it off. It was nighttime, but he could see the Jedi Temple in the distance. His apartment was nowhere near the Temple, so he chose to go there. But it was a lot _bigger_ than he remembered.

 _I have been gone a while_ , he convinced himself as he picked up his mask from the ground.

He walked toward it, but eventually hailed a passing taxi.

"Where to?" the human driver asked as Revan entered the vehicle.

"The Temple," Revan tiredly replied.

The driver looked back and inspected him. "Are you a Jedi?" he asked aggressively.

"Um... sort of?" Revan answered, slightly nervous.

"Get the hell outta here, I don't serve your kind!" the driver shouted. Not wanting to pick a fight, Revan quickly complied and walked the rest of the way, wondering about the sudden contempt toward Jedi - though he honestly couldn't blame them, as he likely held them in even higher contempt.

It took quite some time, but Revan finally reached the steps of the Jedi Temple, and it didn't just seem bigger. Revan could tell, without a shadow of a doubt, that it just _was_ bigger. This kind of construction simply couldn't have been done in the - what, three years? - he had been gone. The five spires were still there, but the base had nearly tripled in width and doubled in height.

He was about to walk into the massive building when he was stopped by a man in white, armored robes. At his hip was a lightsaber, and under his white hood was a mask that covered his whole face, two glass-covered eye-slits the only thing allowing anything in.

"I don't recognize you," he said, "yet you appear to be a Jedi. May I have your name?"

"You're definitely a lot nicer than the taxi driver," Revan complimented.

"Yes, I'm afraid the Jedi's reputation has been tainted by the war," he responded.

"Wait, war!?" Revan exclaimed. Had his journey been for naught? Had the Sith returned anyway?

"I'm... going to assume you've been away for quite some time," the guard responded. "Tensions first started rising over ten years ago, but the Clone War only began three years ago."

"I- you know what, I'll figure this out later," Revan shook it off. "I need to see a... healer, or something, I don't know."

"But may I get your name?"

"You mean you don't recognize me?" Revan's beard had grown back, so surely people would recognize him by now?

"I'm... sorry, should I?" The guard seemed as perplexed as Revan was.

"I'm Revan!" he simply stated.

"Ah... you mean the Sith Lord?"

"What? Yeah, used to be, but I turned away from that!" Revan corrected.

"Yes... you need to see a healer," the guard commanded. "Please come with me."

The guard was kind, but stern, and Revan complied, following him to a healer. The halls were, in and of themselves, a work of art. Hundreds of Jedi, Masters, Knights, Padawans, and Younglings alike, walked through, all of different species and ages. _Bland robes stayed the same_ , Revan chuckled to himself.

When they came to the Hall of Healing, as the guard called it, Revan was sat on one of many white beds. Medical equipment was neatly spread throughout, and other healers were attending to other Jedi. Tired, he chose to cross his legs and meditate as he waited.

After five or so minutes, a Mirialan healer came to him.

"Hello, my name is Fallana," she introduced herself.

"Revan," he replied, "though that seems to be raising doubts."

"I can understand why," Fallana responded. "Revan died... some time ago."

"But... I'm right here," he replied with a confused look. He then had a shocked look of realization. "How... how long ago?" he asked her.

"Almost four thousand years ago."

_What?_

_Four thousand years!?_

No...

No, it wasn't possible. It couldn't be. There was no way he was four thousand years into the future. That was... _ludicrous._

"I-I-what!?" Revan stutterred, jumping up from the bed. "N-no, that's not possible! It can't be!"

"Please, clam down," the healer kindly told him.

"No... _no_ ," he said. "This... this is Vitiate, isn't it? Yes, that's it! It's-it's Vitiate!" It had to be. This was all an illusion. This wasn't real. It was the only way!

"Vitiate!" he cried out as people began staring, the healer desperately trying to calm him down. "Come out, Vitiate! I know you're there!"

"Sir, please -" the healer was cut off by Revan activating his green-bladed lightsaber. Several guards activated yellow-bladed saberstaffs in response.

"Get away!" Revan cried out. "Where's Vitiate!?"

"What is the meaning of this!?" A dark-skinned Jedi Master marched into the room, and activated a purple blade when he saw the commotion.

"Stay back!" Revan demanded, waving his blade. "Where is Vitiate!?"

"Please, just calm down!" the Master sternly commanded as he came closer.

"NO! No! No, no, no, no..." Revan collapsed to the ground in shock. "No..."

_Four thousand years?_

Everyone, everything... _gone_. Not just dead, but _forgotten_ , their names never spoken again in ages.

This was real. Revan didn't want to believe it, but this was actually happening. His entire life, his every accomplishment, all a forgotten memory, an entry in a history text at best.

Revan didn't bother resisting when the Jedi took him into custody.

* * *

"Master Yoda, we need to speak," Mace Windu stated to the elderly Jedi.

"About the disturbance in the Hall of Healing, yes?" Master Yoda extrapolated. "Hmm. A disturbance in the Force, as well, have I felt."

"I have felt it, too, master," Mace replied, "but I think we know why."

Yoda turned to face his ally in his meditation seat in the midst of the darkened room, Mace taking a seat himself.

"The man claims to be Revan, the ancient Sith Lord," Windu began.

"Believe this to be the case, do you?" Yoda inquired.

"Considering the... _bizarreness_ of the situation..." Windu nearly trailed off. "I cannot say." Mace pulled a metal mask from his robe. "Mainly because of this," he said as he passed it to the old Master.

"The mask of Revan, this is," Yoda said, surprised. "Certain, are you, that a fake, this is not?"

"It is no ordinary mask," Mace replied. "Of that, I am certain."

Yoda spent a moment in thought. "Where is he?" he asked.

"Still in the Hall of Healing, but in a more private area," Mace responded. "He hasn't said a word."

"Harm anyone, he did not?"

"Fortunately not, master."

Yoda found himself in thought for another moment. This Jedi was slow and methodical, and every time he made a decision, it was as if he was calling on the Force for guidance - an ideal to strive towards.

"And what of his condition?" Yoda asked after a moment.

"Physically? Wounded and tired, but nothing too serious," Windu answered. "Mentally, he took the news pretty hard - hard enough for me to know for certain that he really believes he is Revan."

"A curious situation, this is," Yoda stated. "Visit him, I will."

"I'm not sure he would be very good company," Mace replied, "but people do tend to enjoy talking to you."

"Hmm, perhaps," Yoda chuckled as he left his seat and began walking. "Come, let us see our new guest."

"One other thing, Master," Mace interjected.

Yoda turned to face his companion.

"We decided to check his midichlorian count," Windu began before pausing. "The only one in this order with a higher count is young Skywalker - and I feel he's making the most of it."

"Then learn more of him, we must," Yoda replied.

After some time, they came upon the man claiming to be Revan where Windu said he would be. He sat on a white bed, his hands restrained to its sides. His head was bowed, his long, black hair covering his face. Revan or not, this man needed help.

"It's true, then?" the man said with a broken spirit. "Everything... everyone... gone?"

"That depends on whether or not what you tell _us_ is true," Mace stoicly replied.

"What reason would I have to lie? You don't even know who I am," the man said. "My legacy, nothing more than that of a forgotten Sith lord, nothing of my sacrifices and victories in the name of the Republic."

"True, your words may be," Yoda said. "But how you arrived here, a mystery, still is."

"I don't know," the man said near-silently as he lifted his head a little. "One minute, I was fighting a Sith, the next, I was here."

"Vitiate?" Windu asked, recalling the man's words from before.

" _Vitiate_ ," the man said with a certain venom in his voice. "Since the galaxy is not under his subjugation, I suppose I won - or at least delayed him until he _could_ be defeated."

"You believe he was that dangerous?" Windu asked.

"Without a doubt," the man replied with a heavy breath. "Where is my mask?" he demanded weakly.

"Currently in the custody of one of our historians," Mace replied.

"I need it," the man stated.

"Why?" Mace asked.

The man chuckled. "Never interfere in the relationship between a Force-wielder and his mask."

"We're still unsure about whether or not you really are Revan," Windu countered.

The man grunted. Then, with a motion of his hand, his restraints fell from his hands as he got off the bed, much to the surprise of the two Jedi.

He walked up to Windu and locked eyes with him.

"I ask you again," he stated, "why would I lie?"

There was a story to be told in the man's eyes. He was experienced, and had seen many things. There was a certain coldness to them, but yet, a certain wisdom, as well. But there was on other thing Windu saw.

 _Power_ _._ Looking into his eyes felt like staring into the heart of the Force itself. Windu could see the Jedi and Sith alike that he had slain, the blood of many bearing a heavy weight on his soul, but the lives he had saved lifting him up, a constant struggle between his heroism and villainy.

Mace looked to Yoda, seeing that he had seen the same thing. Then he looked back to Revan.

"Speak the truth, you really do," Yoda stated.

"Of course I am," Revan said as he used the Force to pull his lightsaber from Windu's robe, much to his displeasure. "Now get me my mask."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Revan's not happy in the slightest, but at least he's somewhere comfortable - though it wouldn't take a detective to figure out that Mace isn't going to like him much. Or many Jedi, for that matter.


	3. The Jedi Council

After being given back his mask - which he had chosen not to wear for the sake of uninterruption - Revan spent the next few days in the Temple Library to catch up on current events. Much had happened in the past four thousand years. The Sith had risen and fallen, the Jedi Order took interesting turns, but approximately one thousand years ago, the Sith were vanquished, and the Republic enjoyed an era of relative peace.

Before the Sith fell, one of them, named Darth Bane, inspired by Revan's own teachings - a fact he was both honored and disgusted by - created the Rule of Two before he was assumed dead, as with all the Sith. The assumption was proven wrong when a Sith assassin named Darth Maul appeared over ten years before. Even after being cut in half and cast out of the Sith, he was still proving to be a problem.

But the peace was broken three years ago by the outbreak of the Clone Wars. An alliance of planets called the Confederacy of Independant Systems, or the Separatists, led by a suspected Sith Lord named Count Dooku, began to break away from the Republic through violent means by use of a droid army. The Republic responded with an army of clones of a Mandalorian called Jango Fett that was given to them by surprise. Revan hoped to the Force the Jedi were investigating it.

The clones had proven themselves to be capable soldiers - which is to be expected, considering they're Mandalorians. Nevertheless, the Separatists were winning the war through sheer numbers - but judging from the numbers Revan found, the war should have been lost long ago. Either the Republic had a hell of a strategist leading it, or someone was playing both sides.

The Republic had also become corrupt in these years, and suddenly swooped in a too-good-to-be-true leader named Sheev Palpatine. Revan would have to keep an eye on that one.

One thing Revan particularly noticed is the controversy within the Senate on whether to continue waging the war, or to trust in negotiation. Revan knew full well that trusting in the latter would be foolish if the other side was truly led by a Sith - but to be fair, most of the war supporters seemed to also be war mongers. Revan, however, was only interested in ending this war. The difference between him and the more peace-loving senators was that he was willing to fight it to do so.

As for events more recent to his time, he found very little, aside from the fact that Vitiate, indeed, was never even heard from, nor his empire. Sith stragglers unified, warring clans made treaties, but they never returned to what either Revan's or Vitiate's Sith had been, and he took relief in that. Unfortunately, there was no information on Bastila, and very little on Meetra, and even that was just her on a list of exiled Jedi. Nevertheless, he seemed to have at least completed his mission.

Revan still had trouble believing what had happened, but considering the war, he may have been sent here for a purpose.

Revan wouldn't hide in this Temple much longer. The Republic was fighting a losing war, something he would not tolerate for much longer.

That was why he was studying the Separatist's battle tactics at the moment. _Know thy enemy_ , as the old saying goes.

"Master Yoda," Revan greeted as he felt the elder Jedi approaching him.

"Revan," Yoda greeted back. "Catching up, you are?"

"More or less," Revan replied.

"A curious method, you have chosen," Yoda observed. "Studying battle tactics, not a place to start for many, hmm?"

"I'm relatively caught up with recent events," Revan stated, "but I don't plan on staying here much longer."

"Wish to fight, do you?" Yoda guessed.

"I've pulled the Republic out of near-defeat before, and I can do so again."

"But certain, are you, that ready, you are?"

Revan took a deep breath. To be truthful, he would never be fully ready. But he was ready enough. He had to be.

"I am," Revan replied.

"That's not your decision to make," Mace Windu said as he entered the room.

"Ah, yes, everything wrong with the Jedi Order," Revan said under his breath. He and Windu had had many discussions over the past few days. It didn't take long for them to dislike each other.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing," Revan innocently replied. "How may I help you?"

"As I was saying," Windu began, "whether or not you're ready is the Council's decision, not yours."

"You think I can't take care of myself?" Revan shot back.

"That's not the issue," Mace replied. "The issue is your past as a Sith Lord."

"The path I abandoned years ago?" Revan argued. "I happen to like my current philosophy better."

"Your _philosophy_ happens to go against just about every core tenet of Jedi Order," Mace responded.

"Very _flawed_ tenets, since they find basic emotion to be 'paths to evil'," Revan said with mockery.

"The path of a Jedi is not an easy one," Mace replied.

"I never said it was," Revan replied, "but you need not make it slavery, either."

"And who are you to talk?" Mace said to Revan's surprise. "You refuse even to follow the Light Side of the Force, something fundamental to a Jedi's walk."

"Ironic, considering your lightsaber form, Vaapad," Revan replied coolly.

"I walk the edge, not the darkness itself," Mace corrected. "There is a difference."

"And there is also a difference between wielding the Dark Side and allowing it to consume you," Revan said as he got up to leave. "Just a there is also a difference between wielding the _Light_ Side and allowing _it_ to consume you."

"You believe the Jedi have been corrupted by the Light?" Mace asked as Revan walked away.

Revan stopped in his tracks and turned around to answer. "Why else would you fear the Dark Side as you do?"

* * *

"So, what emergency caused this meeting in particular?" The voice of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi statically came from the hologram on his seat. At the current moment, he was fighting alongside his former apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, on Yerbana.

"This one in particular _was_ called rather urgently," Jedi Master Plo Koon added, his hologram originating from Cato Neimoidia.

"This first transpired a few days ago," Mace Windu began, "but the rather bizarre nature of this event encouraged us to take our time to evaluate."

This received some confused looks from the other Jedi High Council members.

"Familiar, are you," Yoda continued for his companion, "with Revan, the ancient Sith Lord?"

"I believe I have heard his name before," Obi-Wan Kenobi answered. "It is to my understanding that he nearly conquered the Republic after supposedly fighting for it during the Mandalorian Wars."

"A few years into his career as a Sith," Mace Windu filled in the gaps, "he was turned back to the Jedi Order and tore down his Sith Empire, afterwards being granted the rank of Jedi Master. He then went missing in the Unknown Regions and supposedly died there."

The Jedi Council continued to listen intently as Yoda considered his words.

"Returned, he has," Yoda finally stated, much to the shock of the Council.

"What do you mean?" Master Ki-Adi-Mundi asked from his battlefield on Mygeeto.

"He claims to have been fighting a Sith named Vitiate in the Unknown Regions when he woke up here," Windu answered. "He is currently in the Temple Library, catching up on recent events."

"How is that _possible?_ " Obi-Wan questioned, bewildered at the sudden reveal.

"The will of the Force, he believes this to be," Yoda answered. "Sent him to fight the Clone War, he believes the Force has."

"What makes you so certain that this truly is Revan?" Jedi Master Kit Fisto asked.

Mace lightly shook his head in thought. "It's difficult to describe," he said.

"Very powerful, he is," Yoda began slowly. "Many Jedi and Sith alike has he slain. Much regret and much wisdom he holds in his soul."

"To stare into his eyes," Mace continued, "you look, and you simply _know_ , without a doubt, that there is none else like him."

"Then perhaps it would be fitting for us to meet him," Master Mundi stated.

"Then I will send for him," Mace Windu replied.

"How public is this knowledge?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Only those who are in this room," Master Windu replied. "He's currently going by the name of Elijah for anyone who asks, and his cover story is that he has been away for the past twenty years in the Outer Rim."

"And how long do we plan to keep this a secret?" Obi-Wan asked.

"As long as we can," Mace answered, "which, considering his current attitude, won't be much longer."

"His attitude?" said Plo Koon.

"He has an utter disregard for the authority of the Council," Mace answered. "He regularly disobeys the Jedi Code, going so far as to marry, have a son, and even wielding the Dark Side."

" _He wields the Dark Side?_ " Obi-Wan repeated Windu's words with surprised confusion.

"An interesting philosophy, Revan believes," Yoda answered. "The Light and the Dark, connected, intertwined, Revan claims them to be."

"Curious..." Obi-Wan commented.

"I believe he simply finds himself unable to let go of his dark past," Master Windu stated, "though this certainly is an interesting route for him to take."

"Nevertheless," Obi-Wan said with an open mind, "I should like to hear his side of the story. Right or not, it would do us well to at least listen."

"Wisely, does Master Kenobi speak," Yoda agreed. "Criticizes us for being close-minded, Revan does. Give him a pleasant surprise, we should."

* * *

Revan answered the summon of the Jedi Council within minutes. He didn't find it difficult to figure out that the meeting he suspected was happening was about him, so he stayed in the vicinity, awaiting his summoning without remaining overly obvious.

He strided through the Temple proudly as he donned his mask, stares being shot at him as he went along. His arms were hidden beneath his black cape, and he made no eye contact with anyone, choosing once again to be a symbol instead of a man. The Jedi he walked by definitely viewed him as such.

After the guard allowed him in, Revan spotted eleven Jedi Masters in the Council chamber, many of them holograms.

"So, this is the Jedi High Council," Revan said as walked into the room, sensing a great deal of surprise from the room - which, of course, was to be expected from just about anyone.

"So, you're Revan, then?" said the hologram of a Kel Dor, whose name Revan remembered from his studies to be Plo Koon.

"Plo Koon, correct?" Revan answered. "And yes, I am, indeed, Revan."

"And what do you present to back this claim?" asked a Jedi Master that Revan immediately recognized to be Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi Master who had earned himself quite a reputation, partially due to his relationship with Anakin Skywalker, but also due in no small part to his battle prowess and his reputation as The Negotiator.

"The testimonies of your two most respected members," Revan replied confidently, "as well as the fact that I don't see how lying about such a thing would benefit me in any way worth the effort."

"I'm told you reverted from Sith back to Jedi," began a Cerean Jedi Master that Revan recalled was Ki-Adi-Mundi. "What exactly caused you to make such a decision?"

"I made no such decision," Revan answered. "The Jedi Council of the time opted to use the Force to erase my identity and reprogram me into their puppet. I discovered the truth shortly after, and only regained my memories after reacquiring my mask."

"What do you mean they erased your identity?" Master Mundi questioned, clearly surprised by the response.

"One day, I was a powerful Sith Lord," Revan replied. "The next, I was a Republic soldier who just so happened to be Force-sensitive."

"So you mean to tell us you never would have rejoined of your own free will?" Master Windu extrapolated.

"No," Revan answered with his usual brutal honesty. "As immoral as the action was, however, I picked up a few valuable things from it, such as my wife, a great many friends, and a total look-back on the decisions I had made up until that point."

"How can you assure us that you will not fall to the Dark Side once again?" Master Kenobi asked.

"Again? I never fell to begin with," Revan explained. "I chose the Dark Side, as one would choose a tool, to combat a far greater threat that would have devastated even more lives than my Sith Empire ever would have."

"All Sith make a conscious decision to follow the path of the Dark Side," Master Windu argued.

"But I was the first to not allow it to enslave me to its will," Revan replied. "I never fell; I simply made a decision few others could have made successfully. I wielded the darkness without getting consumed by it."

"So you stand by your actions?" Master Windu asked.

"Not necessarily," Revan relied coolly. "I did not know then what I know now, that being the true nature of the Light and the Dark. I would never need to walk that path again, for even if a similar threat were to arise, my understanding of the Force has opened new doorways for me to take.

"But I acted on what I did know, and while I may have been at least partially incorrect, there was no way I could have known there were other alternatives at the time."

"And you believe the Light and Dark Sides are connected?" Master Kenobi asked.

"I do," Revan answered. "Something as strange and complex as the Force cannot be divided into black and white, light and dark. It has existed long before the Jedi and Sith first divided it, and it will exist long after both orders have fallen."

"And so certain, what makes you?" Master Yoda questioned.

"What I have achieved because of it," Revan answered. "I wield more power than a Sith could possibly dream of, I retain a scope of morality, I am able to freely form attachments, and most importantly, I am free. Free of the chains put on me by both the Sith and Jedi alike, free to forge my own path, free to _love_ \- a precious freedom neither the Jedi nor the Sith could have offered me."

The Jedi Council exchanged glances between each other, as if they were passing mental notes with each other.

"Now that you have attained what you wanted," Revan declared, "there are some things that I want."

"And what do you want?" Master Windu asked.

"Two things, primarily," Revan answered. "Firstly, I want control of a legion of Clone Troopers - preferably from the 501st, but any would do - as well as a sizable fleet, along with regular assignments. Secondly, I request that I retain the title of Jedi Master, as well as all of the rights that come with it."

"Those are some _very_ steep requests, Revan," Master Windu stated.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I won't be here to indoctrinate your younglings or something," Revan replied sarcastically. "We both know you need all the hands you can get. If you didn't, you wouldn't be putting teenagers on open battlefields."

"Those teenagers understand the Jedi Code," Master Windu replied.

"And I led the Republic to victory under far more dire circumstances," Revan replied.

"Perhaps we could compromise," Master Kenobi said, wanting to avoid a confrontation.

"I'm listening," Revan replied.

"You currently bear little knowledge of the Clone War," Kenobi began, "and reading military texts won't prepare you for it."

"So what did you have in mind?" Revan asked curiously.

"That we partner you up with another Jedi," Kenobi explained. "You still get a hands-on experience, but still remain under the semi-supervision of the Jedi Council. You can act as a military advisor of sorts."

"That sounds reasonable to me," Revan replied. "And my rank of Master?"

"Discuss it, the Council shall," Master Yoda answered. "But if to send Revan out to the field, we are, public, this knowledge must be made."

"I fear the public may not react well to such a reveal," Master Windu argued.

"Then don't _tell_ them," Revan replied. "Just don't _hide_ it. If someone asks, answers. If not, they need not know."

"That would funnel the information slowly," Master Mundi stated.

"Precisely," Revan replied. "If they neither need nor want to know, they won't."

"Information can spread," said Master Plo Koon.

"It will still be slow," Revan replied. "From rumors, to conspiracies, to facts. That takes time, especially when many people don't even believe in the Force. Now, do I get to fight, or not?"

The Council then found themselves exchanging glances amongst each other once more.

"You fought the Mandalorians once, correct?" Master Kenobi asked after a moment.

Revan nodded.

"Would you know how to fight them again?" Master Kenobi asked.

"I don't understand," Revan stated. "I thought the Republic had a treaty with Mandalore?"

"I'm not quite sure I understand, either," Master Windu said.

"Well," Master Kenobi began, "I've just made contact with Ahsoka Tano."

Revan remembered her, as well. Former apprentice to Anakin Skywalker, exiled from the Jedi after being accused of bombing the Temple. She refused to rejoin after it was proven that she was innocent.

"She is now working with Lady Bo-Katan of Mandalore," Master Kenobi continued. "We believe Maul is on Mandalore. If we move quickly, we can capture him."

"Maul? The renegade Sith?" Revan recollected.

"Indeed," Master Kenobi answered. "Bo-Katan is suggesting a siege of the city Maul is located in."

"You want my help to besiege Mandalore?" Revan extrapolated.

"Launching an invasion would break century-old treaties," Master Windu said.

"The capture of Maul could be instrumental in uncovering the Sith," Master Kenobi argued.

"If that's so, what question is there?" Revan said. "Launch the siege!"

"Do you have any concern for treaties _or_ the casualties that will no doubt come with a siege?" Master Windu questioned.

"Of course I do," Revan answered. "But when an underworld-controlling Sith Lord has knowledge that we desperately need, exceptions must be made."

"I must agree with Revan," Master Kenobi said. "The benefits are simply too high to ignore."

"Less than ideal, this situation is," Master Yoda stated, "but yield valuable answers, such a move would do."

The Council was hesitant, but they all eventually agreed to a siege.

"Get me a ship and your coordinates," Revan said, "I'm coming over."

It was then that a Temple Guard barged into the chambers.

"What is the meaning of this?" Master Windu demanded.

"Forgive me, Masters," the guard panted, "but a Separatist fleet has just emerged from hyperspace."


	4. The Battle of Coruscant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revan finds himself thrust into the most important battle in the Clone War as of yet - how will he handle it?

" _What the hell did you just say?_ " Revan found himself saying after a moment of shock.

"We don't know how," the guard panted, "but the Separatists found an unknown hyperlane to Coruscant. They're already cutting through the fleet and have begun landing troops!"

Revan took a moment to think. "Get me in contact with Vice Admiral Screed and Commander Fox," he ordered.

"What do you think you're doing?" Master Windu demanded.

"Don't waste my time, Windu," Revan replied with little patience. "I'm taking command of the battle. _Don't try to stop me._ "

The Jedi Council knew better than to stop him, so Revan soon found himself in the briefing room. On the large hologram table was the battle above, and next to it stood holograms of Vice Admiral Terrinald Screed, the commander of the fleet protecting Coruscant, and Clone Commander Fox, who was in charge of the clone battalions located here.

"So you're the one the Jedi chose to lead the defense?" Admiral Screed found himself saying as Revan entered the room. Screed was a man Revan predicted he would particularly enjoy working with, mainly due to their similar views on war. "I cannot say I recognize you."

Admiral Screed had a long history in fighting for the Republic - a history he made abundantly clear with his cybernetic eye, which he made no effort to conceal, as he cared little of his appearance. Revan didn't learn much of him, aside from his bravery in combat and loyalty to the Republic.

"I've been away for some time," Revan replied, "but my travels have gained me much insight on the waging of war." What Revan said wasn't a lie by any means, but it seemed the full truth would reveal itself soon.

"So I assume you have a plan, then?" Screed asked.

"Commander Fox," he began, "focus your troops in the Senate and military zones of the city."

"And the civilians, sir?" There was a certain cold concern in Fox's voice; he was fiercely loyal to the Republic, as all clones were, but this one was far colder than most in that loyalty. In some ways, he was like Revan - willing to sacrifice innocents, but would rather not. Such an attitude was what made him so highly respected and decorated.

Revan, meanwhile, sighed in thought. He always had a clear-cut purpose for these decisions, but he was always completely willing to follow alternatives. "Saving their lives will mean nothing if we lose the battle," Revan stated simply. "Keep your AA guns and artillery in the rear, walkers in front, everything else between - make sure everyone is within protection range of the AA and artillery. And if you _can_ spare the troops, you may send some to the civilian zones, as well."

"Yes, sir," the commander complied before his hologram vanished. Such an unquestioning obedience. Revan often wondered if these clones were just organic droids, or real people. He would have to meet more before deciding.

"Admiral Screed," Revan turned to the Admiral, "before anything else, I need to know what kind of reinforcements we will be getting."

"The entire Open Circle Fleet, ideally," Screed answered. "It will include a substantial amount of Venator and Victory Star Destroyers, Dreadnought Cruisers, and several battlecruisers, along with sufficient escort ships."

"For now, hold them off as long as possible." Revan rested his arms on top of one another as he revealed his strategy. "Have the destroyers focus power on shields and form them so that nothing can get through."

"And when we receive reinforcements?"

"Focus destroyer fire on the Lucrehulk carriers," Revan answered. "If any can be spared to engage the Providences, do so. Use the Dreadnought Cruisers and other smaller ships to eliminate anything else, and once we get our battlecruisers, try to draw enemy fire towards them so that the other ships can move in for the kill. Use boarding parties and starfighters to our advantage as often as you can."

"Risky," Admiral Screed noted, "but doable, and may yield good results." Screed's hologram soon disappeared, as well.

"What Jedi reinforcements have you managed to call in?" Revan said as he sensed Master Windu walk into the room.

"Generals Skywalker and Kenobi are within range," Windu replied. "We've just contacted them. They should be here within the hour."

"Mandalore?"

"Ahsoka Tano and Captain - _Commander_ Rex," Windu corrected himself, "will be leading the initial assault."

"Good, I intend to join them as soon as possible," Revan said as he left the room.

"And what will you do?" Windu asked.

"Fight the battle," Revan simply replied.

* * *

"Alert: we are losing ground in Sector 4," ARC Captain Fordo's monotone voice went through his comlink. "Sector 4 needs reinforcements. Repeat: we are-"

The captain found himself interrupted as a a battle droid approached him. Acting fast, he ended his call and opened fire, the droid quickly falling to his modified DC-15A Blaster Rifle. As another appeared on his side, he smacked it with the stock of his rifle and gave it similar treatment.

As another droid approached, he struck it once again with his rifle as he threw it from his hands, giving him just enough time for him to quickly draw his sidearm and finish it off. He then found himself with his pistol in his right hand and his rifle in his left, firing at the droids now beginning to corner him and his men.

He was ordering them to fall back when the Jedi appeared. This one was a little different than the rest, in his black robes and cape, brass-colored armor and grey mask.

"Hold your positions!" he ordered them as he used his green-bladed lightsaber to reflect blaster bolts back to their droid senders faster than the human eye could perceive. Outstretching his hand, he sent dozens of droids flying back as the clones quickly retook lost ground.

The Jedi cast his lightsaber to more droids as he held blaster bolts in place, sending them back to where they came as his saber returned to him, continually using his Jedi powers to his best advantage.

Fordo and his clones did no small amount of damage, either, Z-6 Rotary Blaster Cannons and ARC Trooper weaponry contributing greatly. Nevertheless, the clone's training and the Jedi's powers quickly dispatched many of the droids in the sector.

"Focus on the left flank and find us a path to the Senate building!" the Jedi ordered, another of the clones complying.

"Sir!" one the clones yelled out from behind cover after a moment. "One and a half clicks west from here is a road that leads directly to the Senate building!"

"Then let's start pushing west!" the Jedi ordered as he shot lightning from his fingers at the enemy droids - an ability none of the clones there had seen before. Nevertheless, they quickly and efficiently complied.

They continued their charge, getting behind the cover of rubble as often as they could, Captain Fordo and the Jedi fighting back-to-back more than once.

More and more droids poured in, and more and more fell to the Jedi and the clones' combined might, skill, and strategy.

"Sir, we are expecting an extra platoon of reinforcements on our position," Captain Fordo said to his new Jedi commander. "They should be arriving by gunship any minute now."

"Good work, trooper!" the Jedi enthusiastically said with a thumbs-up. He seemed to be one of the more humorous of his kind, but his worth as a fighter definitely outweighed that.

"We are also being offered a walker, sir," Fordo added. "Should I accept?"

"We can make do with the platoon, send the walker to someone who needs it," the Jedi replied.

"As you wish, sir."

Their eventual gunship support cleared out a great deal of opposition as many more troops joined them. About half a click to go until they hit the road, Fordo and the Jedi pushed forward with their men.

"Sir, transmission from Master Windu," Captain Fordo said to the Jedi.

"Put him through," he replied.

"Revan," spoke the hologram, "we've just lost contact with Master Shaak Ti. She was the one sent to protect the Chancellor."

"Was she, now?" Revan replied as he stumbled upon a realization. "That means they're after him!"

"You're near his location," Master Windu stated. "I need you over there as soon as possible."

"On it," Revan complied before turning to Fordo. "Get us some quick-pickup transports, this just became time-sensitive," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," the captain answered.

"Alright, boys, push forward!"

* * *

"So, it ends!" came the voice of the robotic menace called General Grievous standing before them. "A valiant effort, but, as you can see, ultimately futile."

General Grievous. The one who slaughtered her companions at Hypori. The Jedi hunter considered by so many to be unstoppable.

Master Shaak Ti, however, took the opportunity of his monologue to tie his cape around the handlebar of a train about to depart.

"Now, Jedi," the General said as a smirk crossed Master Ti's face, "prepare yourselves, for you are about to leave this world." If the General was anything, he was prideful and confident. Master Ti was not such.

"I don't think so," she said as the train left, taking Grievous with it.

"Excellent work, Master Jedi!" Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine praised from her side.

But Shaak Ti wasted no time in getting out of there. Using the Force to shatter a window, her and her Jedi companions, one of them carrying the endangered Chancellor, leapt to lower ground.

Eventually, they came to the transport that would take the Chancellor to his bunker.

To the sad acceptance of her companions, and the praise of the Chancellor, Shaak Ti stayed behind to hold Grievous off. She knew they were coming.

And she was right.

Even just a few moments after the transport bolted away, she could hear metallic footsteps approaching. From the shadows, emerged no less than nine Droid Magnaguards, all with electrostaffs waiting for blood.

Shaak Ti readied her lightsaber as her companions sped off with an oddly calm Chancellor.

Spinning, dodging, and running on walls, Shaak Ti held off the droids, barely blocking all of their strikes until one of them managed to disarm her.

Dodging more attacks and even blocking with her arms, she eventually managed to take an electrostaff for herself. The tide quickly began to turn as she broke down the droid's defenses.

Stabbing and slashing, she managed to cut more of them down, but only as even more came to assist.

Meanwhile, her Jedi companions quickly escorted the Chancellor to his bunker.

The room was dark, illuminated by nothing more than a blue light. Not even a moment of safety had passed when Grievous' lightsabers illuminated the room further.

After many exchanged blows, the two Jedi managed to get Grievous in a saber lock.

As Grievous tightened his reptilian eyes, his arms split, two blocking off the Jedi, two more reaching for more lightsabers, much to the fearful shock of the two Jedi.

The fight ended quickly and brutally.

On the other end, as Shaak Ti desperately held them off, the Magnaguards ended their attack, disappearing once more into the shadows.

Shaak Ti felt confused for a moment, then realized what it meant.

"The Chancellor!" she cried out in shock as she bolted along the corridor.

She ran and ran for what seemed like forever until she finally reached Grievous. To her horror, the mangled bodies of her companions lay before the feet of General Grievous, who had the Chancellor in his hands.

She desperately tried to strike Grievous, but it was to no avail. Effortlessly, he blocked her attack and had her throat in his hands within seconds.

"You're tired, Jedi!" Grievous mocked her as he took away her saber. "You won't be needing this; I have something else for you!"

* * *

"Sir, the gunships are here!"

"Then get us the hell to the Chancellor!"

"Yes, sir!"

The LAAT/i Gunships sped along the sky to Shaak Ti's last known location, the Chancellor's bunker. Two clicks left.

The battle raged on above and below them. More Republic ships appeared in the sky, executing Revan's strategy to the best of their ability - and it seemed to be working.

Below them, clones and Jedi were engaging Separatist forces in the streets. Ground was being lost and taken, but the droids had the advantage of numbers.

After a few minutes, enemy fire interrupted their journey as a blaster cannon shot down two gunships.

Revan quickly leapt from his gunship and landed on the ground to see the famed General Grievous carrying Chancellor Palpatine to his ship.

But the moment Revan laid eyes on Palpatine, he knew something was wrong. The Dark Side surrounded him. He was calm, controlled, even in the midst of being kidnapped by the most dangerous Jedi hunter in the galaxy, as if he expected - no, _wanted_ this to happen.

Revan could tell the Chancellor saw something in Revan, as well, but neither could get a good look at one another as the Chancellor was carried to the transport.

Revan's initial intention was to save the Chancellor, but he was having another idea.

It was clear that the Chancellor was not at all what he seemed to be, but he needed more data before he could draw a conclusion. Revan considered his options.

The Republic was losing the war. The loss of the Chancellor would be a massive break in morality for the Republic - but it would also leave a power vacuum, a vacuum Revan could fill.

But the people didn't know him. They loved Palpatine. If he appeared with a solution just after Palpatine's kidnapping, suspicions would be raised and everything would be for naught. Tempting as allowing the kidnapping to take place was, or even just eliminating Palpatine here, Revan needed more time. Time to gain public popularity.

That's when Revan smirked at his idea underneath his mask.

The cyborg carrying him captive quickly unveiled four lightsaber-wielding arms as it went into attack position, the clone gunships opening fire on the transport.

Revan recognized the cyborg from his studies. It was General Grievous, the famed Jedi hunter and leader of the droid army, famous for collecting the lightsabers of his targets as trophies.

Revan outstretched his hand as a stream of lightning flowed from his fingers. Grievous quickly blocked with his sabers and held his ground. Nevertheless, the power of Revan's lightning caused him to struggle and step back into the ship.

The ship's hatch closed, blocking Revan off, and the damaged transport immediately took to the skies as it shot down more gunships.

The clones already with him began firing at the transport, but it was to no avail. It had already gotten away.

All part of the plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Revan is no blind man, that much I can tell you. What is he planning? Find out next chapter!


	5. Rescuing the Chancellor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having failed to keep the Chancellor from getting kidnapped, Revan must team up with Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi to rescue him. Unfortunately, Revan is a terrible pilot. Fortunately, he's also a badass.

"This is most unfortunate," Master Windu stated through the hologram, "but Skywalker and Kenobi are nearly here. I will have them attempt to rescue the Chancellor."

"And tell them I'm coming with them," Revan requested.

"Negative," Windu replied. "I need you to stay on the ground and direct the troops."

"If you want me directing troops, then let me take an Acclamator," Revan replied half-sarcastically. "Either way, I intend to join them."

"The two can handle the rescue just fine," Windu stood his ground. "The troops seem to have taken a liking to you."

"Captain Fordo and his men already have special instructions from me," Revan replied. "As I said, _I intend to assist._ "

"And why do you insist so much?"

"I want to be as useful as I can." Revan spoke only half the truth. The full truth was that he was trying to get a name for himself so he can take political power from Palpatine - ideally, become the Supreme Commander of the Republic's military, as he was in the Mandalorian War. "The capture of the Chancellor was the primary objective of the Separatists; therefore, our primary objective should be rescuing him."

"And it is," Master Windu replied, "but it's not _your_ primary objective. Your objective is to direct the troops down here. Understood?"

"Windu, we're the same rank," Revan stated. "Your opinion is _considered_ by me, but it not _law._ Now, if you don't want to tell Skywalker and Kenobi that I will be joining them, I will tell them myself. _Understood?_ "

Windu stared at him spitefully. "You are very bold Revan," he said.

"Why do you think people love me?" Revan responded with a smile beneath his mask.

Much to Revan's amusement, Windu cut the transmission immediately. He would have been very grumpy had he known Revan already had a starfighter ready to take off.

"Ready to go, Q5?" Revan said to his new astromech, R2-Q5. The ones of this time were quite different than the ones that existed in his time. These ones were much more smooth, round, and uniform compared to the square, jagged, compartmentalized astromechs of his time.

It made him think of T3, the loyal astromech Revan took with him on his many adventures - even to the Unknown Regions, where he battled Vitiate. Oh, what a droid! Loyal and obedient, but still intelligent enough to get priorities straight and even have a sense of humor.

Q5 himself was a light grey with highlights of red, as was his starfighter, an Eta-2 Actis Interceptor (he liked having a uniform theme).

The droid beeped a 'yes' to his new master, and thus, Revan soon set out.

The fighter was extremely fast and nimble, and it only took a few minutes for Revan to break atmosphere. Revan found his eyes widening at the sight of the two fleets clashing.

Revan hadn't seen a battle this large since Rakata Prime, when Revan led a Republic attack on the Star Forge - but Revan was inside the actual Forge for the entire duration of the battle. The only engagements he actually commanded were so much smaller - at most, a few hundred capital ships going at each other. Here? There looked to be a few _t_ _housand,_ not even mentioning the sheer amount of starfighters.

But Revan had no time to be awestruck, because those few thousand ships happened to be shooting at each other, and once again, _not to mention the starfighters._

Q5 shrieked as passing debris almost hit him.

"I'm sorry!" Revan yelled as he desperately tried to survive flying through an exploding Recusant Destroyer. Revan had many skills. Flying was _not_ one of them.

"Need to hit the flight sim, Master Revan?" Revan heard the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi through his comms.

"Ah, yeah, seems so," Revan replied, somewhat embarrassed.

"Don't worry, Master, you'll get used to it," Revan heard another voice, unfamiliar this time, through the comms. He had to guess it was young Skywalker himself.

"Skywalker?" Revan guessed, passing over a pair of Arquitens cruisers engaging a damaged Munifecent frigate.

"That's me," Anakin replied, flying up from underneath Revan.

"Let's focus on the task at hand, shall we?" Obi-Wan interjected, coming up on Anakin's left.

"Well, in that case, General Grievous' ship is directly ahead," Anakin stated. "The one crawling with Vulture droids."

"Oh, wow, nice," Revan said with the utmost sarcasm as the droids took off to engage them.

"Oh, don't worry, this will be easy!" Obi-Wan laughed before ordering a squadron of ARC-170's on their position.

"Q5, get ready to compensate for my flying," Revan laughed an order to his droid.

"This is where the fun begins!" Anakin stated happily.

"Let them pass between us," Obi-Wan said, to which Revan agreed.

Then, the fighters clashed. ARC-170's and V-wings, Tri-Fighters and Vulture droids, all competing for the lives of the three Jedi.

The Jedi found little difficulty dodging the incoming fire of the swarm of droid starfighters.

* * *

"Well done, General!" Count Dooku praised Grievous before giving him a curious look. "I can see your armor has been considerably scorched," he observed.

"The Jedi seem to be learning new tricks," Grievous replied with Chancellor Palpatine held fast in his grip.

"Is that so?" Dooku said before looking to his master. When most people looked at that man, they saw Supreme Chancellor Palpatine of the Galactic Republic. Dooku was one of the few who saw his true form: Darth Sidious. The Dark lord of the Sith. The man who controlled the entire galaxy without them even knowing it.

Sidious exchanged a mental note with Dooku, with nothing more than the look in his eyes.

"I shall take the Chancellor from here, General," Dooku said kindly. "You... go get your armor repaired."

"I shall wash myself of the scars of battle when the battle is over," Grievous replied stoically.

"Very well," Dooku brushed him off. Once Grievous was out of sight, Sidious' demeanor changed from a frightened politician to the Dark Lord of the Sith.

"I have felt a great disturbance in the Force," Sidious stated.

"I have felt it as well, master," Dooku replied.

"We have a new enemy," Sidious continued. "Or perhaps... an _old_ one has resurfaced."

"What do you mean?" Dooku asked as the pair stopped in their tracks.

"Surely, you know of Darth Revan," Sidious explained. "The ancient Dark Lord of the Sith who not only nearly conquered the galaxy, but his teachings were one of the core inspirations for the Rule of Two that is followed to this very day."

"I do know of him, master," the count affirmed. Then he sensed what his master was saying. "You believe... he has returned?"

"It would seem he rejected his power and returned to the Jedi," Sidious answered as he continued their walk, "though his clear fondness of _lightning_ states otherwise."

"How is that possible?" Dooku questioned.

"One of the most valuable lessons my master taught me, apprentice," the master answered, "is that through the Force, nothing is impossible - even events such as these." Sidious paused. "It says great things of Grievous if Revan did not destroy him immediately. Perhaps he is more useful than I thought."

"Or he _allowed_ Grievous to escape," Dooku suggested to the delight of his master.

"I have taught you well, apprentice!" Sidious praised. "Revan was considered one of the most powerful and intelligent Sith to ever live. It is very likely we, too, are pawns in a game of _his_."

"Then he must be eliminated," Dooku stated simply.

"Patience," Sidious replied. "I feel he can be used to our advantage - we simply need more knowledge. And I feel there are very few strong enough to stop him."

"As you say, master," Dooku said as he entered the spire of the _Invisible Hand_.

Dooku and Sidious took a moment to gaze at the battle. "What makes you so certain?" Dooku asked after a moment.

"When you see him, you will know," Sidious replied.

Dooku nodded.

"Remember the plan," Sidious said before slipping back into Palpatine and walking to the chair he would be bound to.

"If Revan arrives?" Dooku asked.

"Try to keep him away from Skywalker," Palpatine ordered as he was strapped to his chair. "I would rather he not influence the boy for the moment."

Dooku bowed before leaving. Even with his hands clasped, Sidious was in always in control. That was a fact Dooku would never forget.

* * *

Evading laser cannon fire was one thing. Evading homing missiles was another.

Even Obi-Wan was having difficulty avoiding them, and Revan didn't fare much better. Anakin, however, had little trouble destroying his.

Soon, Revan felt relief when the missiles passed by and exploded. It quickly faded when a dozen Buzz Droids, as they were called, hopped on his fighter and started taking it apart.

He tried spinning them off, but it was to no avail. He looked to his right and saw that Kenobi was having the same problem.

Revan jerked back and managed to knock a few of them off before they began shutting down his controls. It seemed Skywalker was trying the tactic of shooting them off his friend, but all he managed to do was blast off half of a chunk of Kenobi's wing. Revan needed to figure this out himself.

"Q5, get this thing into the nearest Republic cruiser, " Revan ordered, the droid beeping in confused compliance. Meanwhile, Revan was swapping his mask for an emergency space mask.

"Ready?" Revan's muffled voice asked as he placed his mask in his robe. Q5 beeped reaffirmingly.

Revan saw Grievous' flagship dead ahead. He shook off the doubt in his head. _Alright, I've never done this before, but I can do it._

As Q5 began to turn towards a nearby Venator, Revan opened the cockpit.

He held on for a moment so that the vacuum could fill his space, then he let go. He outstretched his hand and electrocuted several of the Buzz Droids and finished off the last one with his lightsaber.

"Uh... Revan?" he heard Anakin say through his comlink. "What are you doing?"

"I'll meet you there," Revan replied before leaping forward, leaving his astromech to follow his command.

No friction to stop him, Revan continued to accelerate. He landed on an incoming Vulture Droid and quickly cut off a wing before leaping off again.

He then landed on a nearby Munifecent frigate. He leapt once more, this time coating the warship with lightning emanating from his fingertips, utterly disabling it and every electronic on board, leaving it to be annihilated by an incoming trio of Carrack cruisers.

Cutting through the fighters in his way, Revan allowed nothing to slow him as Anakin and Obi-Wan entered the _Invisible H_ _and._ Revan landed on a Lucrehulk before leaping once more, this time landing on the flagship. Opening a hatch near the bridge, he soon found himself within the ship.

"Skywalker? Kenobi? You there?" Revan spoke into his comlink after swapping back to his own mask.

"Yes, and we've located the Chancellor," Obi-Wan responded. "Meet us at the top of the main spire."

"I'm on the other end of the ship," said Revan, "but I'll see what I can do."

"I'll send you the coordinates," Anakin chimed in.

"Thank you... Got them," Revan said. "I'll meet you there."

Revan walked along the hallways quietly, sneaking past the droid patrols. Thankfully, most of the B2 units were fighting on the ground, leaving mainly B1's to guard the ships. That fact made the boarding operations much easier.

B2 Battle Droids were designed for war - tougher armor, more powerful weapons, more robust combat programming. B1 Battle Droids were cheap police droids shoved into a dozen roles they weren't meant for - _ncluding_ policing, it sometimes seemed.

As he snuck down the hallways, he felt a slight bit annoyed he wasn't able to land in the hangar with Anakin and Obi-Wan. After hearing of his reputation, Revan was very much looking forward to meeting the young Knight. Still, it wouldn't be very long until the two met up, so Revan supposed it wasn't too much of a problem.

Revan still wondered what the public would think of his reveal. Many people did not believe in the Force, so an ancient Jedi coming back to life wouldn't be believed by many more. He needed to do something _public_ , he needed to show people, somehow, that he was, indeed, back - or at least show them that he was dependable.

There were many people he needed to prove himself to. The Jedi, the military, the civilians, the Senate...

It would take time and effort, but Revan could do it - he already had four thousand years ago. Unfortunately, unlike then, the populace had someone to look to already, and that was Palpatine - and, to a far lesser extent, young Skywalker himself. Revan may use the boy to gain the political power he needed.

Surely, directing the strategy over this battle would gain him the respect of much of the military, perhaps even the Jedi. But he needed more than respect, so he would have to work for it.

He also, of course, needed to not only strengthen his own hold, but he needed to weaken Palpatine's, as well. He knew he was drawing early conclusions, but he simply _knew_ that man was up to no good. But he needed more data before he could come up with a plan, although removing corruption from the Senate would certainly help matters. He decided to speak with some of the more moral Senators about the matter - when the time was right, of course.

Revan also knew bringing the Republic to the winning side of the war would definitely lift him up in the eyes of the people, but he needed more control over the war to do such a thing. Perhaps a very well thought-out, game-changing campaign would get him the prestige he needed?

Capturing Hypori or Foerost would certainly be a hard hit for the Separatists. Both had already been attacked by the Republic, and one was blockaded for over a year, but both Republic attacks were utter failures. Capturing both worlds would prove his strength, but it would be a challenge. Both worlds were heavily defended, and drawing the necessary fleets and armies together would alert the CIS too soon. He would think on it later.

"Revan!" Master Kenobi's panting voice came through Revan's comlink. "We've found the Chancellor, but Count Dooku ambushed us. Please hurry!"

"On my way!" Revan responded as he broke into a run, darting past unsuspecting Battle Droids.

* * *

"I sense great _fear_ in you, Skywalker," Count Dooku said to the young Jedi Knight as they locked their lightsabers. "You have _hate,_ you have _anger_ \- but you don't use them."

Anakin responded by breaking the lock. Pushing to the offensive, Anakin exchanged blows with the Sith Lord. During his days as a Jedi, Count Dooku was one the finest duelists in the Order, and that title still held up.

But Anakin was the Chosen One. Destroying Sith like Dooku was his destiny - it was why he existed in the first place. It was why Qui-Gon Jinn took him to the Jedi when he was a boy. Why he insisted on training him. Why his dying wish was that Obi-Wan teach him the ways of the Jedi.

Anakin wondered if Revan was a Chosen One of his time. Obi-Wan had told him of the current situation, and to say it was bizarre was an understatement. But Obi-Wan seemed to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that Revan had, indeed, returned, so Anakin chose to trust Obi-Wan on the matter. Apparently, even the whole Council was utterly convinced.

Anakin was looking forward to meeting him. His philosophy, his deeds, his mask - everything about him was so new to Anakin, and he just wanted to know more - not to mention the fact that he seemed to be a fun person to talk to, judging by the few words they had already exchanged.

Or perhaps Revan paved the way for Anakin to fulfill his destiny. In his day, the Sith were numerous and powerful. Now, there were only two, along with a few other wannabes. Maybe Revan was here to help him _now_.

Or perhaps he was meant for nothing at all, and he simply did the things he did because he could. Anakin couldn't see _that_ happening, but hey, it was possible...

Anakin continued to keep Dooku on the defensive. He wanted Anakin to use his hate and anger? _Fine._

Dooku seemed to be a kind old man, but he was anything but that. He was a Sith. He was cruel. He didn't care about the people who died because of his actions - if anything, he _enjoyed_ it. And Anakin _hated_ him for it.

And using that hatred to fuel his strength, Anakin got the upper hand. Even Anakin felt surprised when he disarmed the Sith lord - quite literally.

Dooku fell to his knees, his hands severed and his lightsaber in Skywalker's hand.

On instinct, Anakin crossed the blades at Dooku's neck as his eyes pleaded for mercy. Mercy he didn't deserve.

"Good, Anakin, good!" Chancellor Palpatine praised from his seat. It always made Anakin happy to hear the Chancellor's kind words. But his next were quite the opposite.

"Kill him," he commanded, to the shock of both Anakin and Dooku. "Kill him _now._ "

Anakin wanted to. He wanted to do it _so much,_ but _it just wasn't right._

Dooku was unarmed. He could be captured, interrogated, used to the Republic's advantage. But Anakin wanted his revenge.

It was against the Jedi Code he swore to live by. But he never kept the Code well to begin with.

"I shouldn't," Anakin simply said. Whether or not he _would_ was a different question.

Palpatine urged Anakin to do it.

Revenge was such a base desire, so _petty,_ and Anakin _knew_ that, but the _urge_ was so strong, and Palpatine kept making stronger.

Or perhaps it was justice. Justice for the crimes Dooku committed. Justice for all of the pain he caused, justice for the _war_ that ravaged the galaxy - the war that he began.

Anakin's hands stopped shaking as he finally made up his mind.


	6. Another Happy Landing

Cutting down the droids in his way, Revan sped down the hallways of the _Invisible Hand._ Encountering droidekas, he disabled their shields with lightning and finished them with his lightsaber. Nothing was stopping him. But he wasn't moving fast enough, for he lost contact with Kenobi.

He dashed along the hallway, speeding past more droids, many shattering to pieces as he passed them.

Revan came across an elevator. Shoving open the doors with the Force, he leapt up the empty shaft, grabbing and leaping off pipes to gain extra momentum. When he came across the elevator, he used the Force to shove it upwards. When he got to where it previously was, he opened the door and ran through.

He stopped at a balcony and saw the scene before him. Chancellor Palpatine was seated at the end of the room, Obi-Wan lay unconscious under the weight of another balcony, and Count Dooku was on his knees before Skywalker, who held red and blue lightsabers at the Count's throat, ready to slice.

"ANAKIN!" Revan called out. But he was too late.

Even as he called the name, the young knight crossed the blades like a pair of scissors, and Dooku's head rolled on the ground as Anakin looked to Revan in shock and regret.

Anakin stood in silence as Revan walked down the stairs.

"What have you done?" Revan panted. Anakin seemed to agree. Palpatine, on the other hand, seemed to approve.

"He brought Count Dooku to justice," the Chancellor said. "He was simply too _dangerous_ to be left alive."

"As if you would know," Revan replied as he walked up to Anakin.

"I-I'm sorry, I-" Anakin stuttered.

"No, it's..." Revan sighed, resting his forehead in his hand, before placing it on Anakin's shoulder. "Let's talk about it later, okay? We'll figure it out, let's just get out of here first."

Anakin nodded in gratitude before Revan turned to the Chancellor. "Chancellor Palpatine," Revan greeted. "It's good to see you alright." What he really meant was, "I see you now; prepare to meet your end."

"And it is an honor to meet you, Master...?" Palpatine replied. What _he_ really meant was, "I know who you are; how can I manipulate you?"

"Revan," he replied. "Someone you need to be scared of," is what he really meant. The two exchanged a glare as Anakin removed Palpatine's binders.

"Now, we must leave," Palpatine changed the subject as he left his chair. "I would hate to be here when more security droids arrive."

Anakin, however, took the opportunity to check on his former master.

"Anakin, there's no time," Palpatine called out as Revan quickly scanned the room, "We need to get off the ship before it's too late!"

"We have time, Chancellor," Revan replied without much care. "Get him, and let's get out of here."

Anakin carried Obi-Wan on his back as Revan and Palpatine followed him to the elevator - which, of course, was not working, as Anakin stated.

"Probably because it isn't there," Revan admitted. Anakin ordered his distant astromech droid to open the door, and as Revan said, they found that it was, indeed, higher than it should have been. That's when the ship started falling.

Grabbing onto the ledge as the ship turned ninety degrees downward, they entered the elevator shaft and began running down its now horizontal wall. Within a few moments, the ship leveled out as the walls fell to vertical once more, leaving Revan and Anakin holding on to a nearby cord, with both Palpatine and Obi-Wan firmly held by Anakin.

"So, how's life as the Chosen One?" Revan joked at the situation, to which Anakin chuckled. Then Obi-Wan woke up, immediately grabbing on to his former apprentice.

"Oh, hello there," Revan saluted.

"Did I miss something?" Obi-Wan said as he took in the situation - which was added to by an incoming elevator.

"Uh... R2? R2, shut down the elevator," Anakin said to his droid companion.

"Too late, jump!" said Kenobi.

Sliding down the wall, Anakin and Obi-Wan grabbed some grapple hooks from their belts and latched them to a nearby pipe. Revan and Palpatine holding on to the pair, they swung and landed safely in a hallway.

"Let's see if we can find something in the hangar bay that's still flyable," Obi-Wan stated. " _Or_ we could use Revan's method, but I doubt the Chancellor would overly enjoy that."

"R2, get down here," Anakin ordered as Revan shook his head.

"My, this looks like your first time!" Obi-Wan commented.

"My more recent adventures have been more 'horrific' and 'against literally impossible odds' than exciting ones like these," Revan admitted. "I have to admit, this is a _very_ nice change of pace."

"Glad we could help," Anakin said.

They continued to run down the hallway, the Chancellor struggling to keep up in his old age, when they found themselves suddenly trapped in a ray shield.

"Wait a minute, how did this happen? We're smarter than this!" Obi-Wan exclaimed.

"Apparently not," Anakein replied. "I say patience."

"Ah, a true Jedi," Revan replied as he placed his chin in his hand.

"R2 will be along any moment now," Anakin reassured. "Then, he'll release the ray shields."

Lo and behold, the white and blue droid came whirring out of a nearby door.

"See?" said Anakin before several dozen Battle Droids of varying types joined them.

"Have you got a plan B?" Obi-Wan asked his companion.

Revan had a few ideas, but he found himself deciding going along with it was best. The others seemed to think similarly. Besides, he wanted to see how these two Jedi operated.

* * *

Anakin felt a surprised relief that Revan reacted so calmly at his deed of killing Dooku. When he saw the Jedi Master enter the room just as he decapitated the Sith Lord, he felt certain it would have gone far worse.

But it didn't. Revan didn't _approve_ by any means, but he seemed he was more interested in solving the problem than berating him for it - a quality Anakin had so far found in few.

But now that he had time to, Anakin noticed something about Revan: he was _powerful._ Anakin could hardly describe it, for he had never seen anything like it before, not even on Mortis. Anakin's need to learn more about Revan only grew. Whatever Revan was doing, he wanted in.

He condemned himself for such a rash thought. Revan wielded the Dark Side, walking a path that led only to devastation and suffering, both to the wielder and those around them. The Light Side was just as powerful, it just wasn't as enticing, and Revan fell for the bait.

Right?

Anakin didn't know what to think. Revan didn't seem corrupted in the slightest. He didn't seem hungry for power, lustful for material things or revenge, bloodthirsty, or _any_ Dark Side trait.

He was as calm and collected as a Jedi, but more powerful than any Jedi could ever dream of. He was intelligent and cunning, but he also _cared._ He had self-control, but he also had passion and love.

Anakin wasn't sure if he wanted to speak with Obi-Wan first or just skip to Revan. On one hand, Obi-Wan may help sort out his confusion. On the other, Obi-Wan may keep Anakin from speaking with Revan entirely.

Either way, he had not time to think anymore, because they were now at the bridge of the _Invisible Hand_ and were standing face-to-face with General Grievous himself.

"Ah, yes," the General said proudly. "The Negotiator, General Kenobi! We've been waiting for you."

Obi-Wan and Grievous were both rivals and opposites, thus, they had frequent banter.

"And... Anakin Skywalker!" Grievous then recalled. Even after all this time and several close encounters, the two most important military figures of the war had never met. "I was expecting someone with your reputation to be a little..." Grievous continued as he walked up to the young Knight, " _older._ "

"General Grievous," Anakin replied, "you're _shorter_ than I expected."

Grievous growled at the remark - much top Anakin's satisfaction. "Jedi scum," he spat out.

"We have a job to do, Anakin, try not to upset him," Obi-Wan warned as Grievous walked over to Revan.

"Come back for another bout, Jedi?" said the General. "I happen to be _prepared_ for you this time."

"Where'd your other arms go?" Revan replied, receiving another growl from Grievous as he grabbed the second lightsaber from his belt.

"Your lightsabers will make a fine addition to my collection," Grievous stated as he placed the four lightsabers in his cape.

"You'll have a _smaller_ collection once I'm through with you," Revan replied.

"R2, now!" Anakin said to his companion.

The astromech whirred and buzzed, extending every tool he had, spewing smoke and oil as he caused the momentary distraction the Jedi needed.

Turning quickly, Anakin telekinetically grabbed his lightsaber from his cape, quickly using it to cut his, Obi-Wan's, and Revan's bonds so they could take their own weapons back.

"Crush them!" Grievous ordered as he backed away. "Make them _suffer!_ "

The Magnaguards behind the General quickly approached the Jedi as Battle Droids carried the captive Chancellor away.

Revan quickly cut down Battle Droids with green and violet blades as Anakin and Obi-Wan dealt with the Magnaguards.

After swiftly defeating his foe, he cut down the droids guarding the Chancellor and cut his bonds with two motions of his lightsaber as Obi-Wan destroyed his magnaguard a few moments later. Revan, meanwhile confronted Grievous.

The cyborg leapt over several computer consoles and next to the bridge's window, picking up an electrostaff as he saw Obi-Wan and Revan on either side of him, Anakin taking the high ground on the consoles.

"You lose, General Kenobi!" Grievous exclaimed as he stabbed the staff not into his combatants, but the window.

Shattering open, the vacuum of space pulled Grievous out, leaving the Jedi to grab on to anything they could until the opening was covered.

As Grievous escaped, the remaining bridge crew made their escape as the ship began to explode from a previous engagement. A monitor began to flash.

"All the escape pods have been launched," Anakin stated.

" _Grievous,_ " Obi-Wan extrapolated.

"So that means we fly the cruiser," said Revan. "Anakin, think you can do it?"

"You mean how do I land what's _left_ of this thing?" Anakin snarkily replied.

"Well?"

"Well, I'd say under the circumstances, the ability to pilot this thing is irrelevant," Anakin replied as he took a seat. "Strap yourselves in."

"Venator Star Destroyer _Gallax_ , requesting fighter escort," Revan began ordering into his comlink. "We have taken the _I_ _nvisible Hand_ and are now on our way to Coruscant's surface. I repeat, we have taken the _Invisible Hand_ and are requesting a fighter escort."

"Copy that, sir," the captain of the destroyer replied. "Fighters on your way."

"Thank you, captain," Revan replied.

"Open all hatches," Anakin instructed. "Extend all flaps and drag fins."

As Obi-Wan did as his friend said, the ship jolted as Revan saw something he didn't like on one of the screens. He was still getting used to reading the new aurebesh, but the image conveyed a picture well enough.

"We appear to have lost the engines," Revan stated. "And the hangar, also the observation platform, as well as some of the hull."

"Not to worry, we are still flying _half_ a ship," Obi-Wan positively chipped in.

The ship began plummeting to the surface as ARC-170's covered its sides.

"Now we're really picking up speed!" Anakin said as the gravity of Coruscant took over for the now-lost engines.

"Eight plus sixty... we're in the atmosphere," Obi-Wan said as Anakin gave instructions to him and Revan.

The ship fell and caught fire as it passed through clouds, the ground becoming clearer as fire-ships came to their sides, extinguishing fires as they could.

"Landing strip up ahead!" Revan observed.

"We're coming in too hot!" Anakin exclaimed.

"Then allow me to _fix_ that!" Revan replied as he leapt from his seat.

Standing in the middle of the floor, Revan raised his arms and reached out to the Force as the ship began to slow.

Revan breathed deeply as he focused, the cruiser coming to a near standstill as it hovered mid-air. Gently, he landed the cruiser on the ground as more ships put out the fires.

Revan took a moment to rest on a nearby console, breathing heavily from exertion. The others took a moment to breath, themselves, Anakin giving Revan an impressed look.

"Another happy landing!" Obi-Wan said cheerfully.


	7. A Learning Experience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revan's plan begins to fall into place as he begins to show his own teachings to young Anakin Skywalker.

"Anakin! I am glad you could find the time to see me," Chancellor Palpatine said from his desk.

"Well, I wasn't doing much else," Anakin said cheerily. "What did you need?"

"My reasons for calling you were two-fold," Palpatine explained, getting up from his seat. "Firstly, I'm curious about this _Revan_ character, I haven't met him before."

"Ah... actually, his name's not Revan," Anakin corrected. "His name is _Elijah_ , the people in the Outer Rim he was with just called him Revan. I suppose he just forgot."

An utter lie, and Anakin didn't like it one bit, but Revan made it abundantly clear that he was now very much interested in keeping his return a secret for the moment. But Revan made it sound very important, so Anakin honored his wish, though his sudden change of heart confused him and Obi-Wan substantially.

"Ah, I see," said Palpatine. "I suppose spending so long in a different culture tends to leave its marks on you." The Chancellor paused. "You know, I had thought the name was familiar to me, and I did some research. Have you ever heard of Darth Revan?"

Anakin gulped. "Not much, I'm afraid."

"Understandable," Palpatine reassured. "He did, after all, live almost four thousand years ago." Palpatine took a moment to pour a glass of water for him and the young Jedi, which Anakin kindly accepted. "There is little information left on him, I'm afraid," Palpatine began, "but what little is left is very telling. Did you know he nearly drove the Jedi to extinction when he brought the Republic to near collapse?"

Anakin was visibly surprised. " _What?_ "

"He created a Sith Empire alongside his apprentice, Darth Malak," Palpatine explained. "Together, they brought the galaxy to its knees. They are also believed to have played major roles during the Mandalorian War, though it wouldn't surprise me if they had puppeteered it themselves, after all I've heard of their lives as Sith Lords."

"I had heard he was a Jedi who destroyed the Sith," Anakin replied.

"Is that so?" said Palpatine. "Well, people do tend to glorify their heroes, and I'm sure the Jedi are no exception when it comes to their beloved crusader against the Mandalorians."

"Or perhaps there's more to the story," Anakin suggested.

"Spoken wisely, Anakin," Palpatine said with a proud smile, "though I find it doubtful he had turned from that life - at least not fully."

That seemed to be at least partially true. Revan walked the path of both the Dark Side and the Light, though he still somehow seemed to have very little traces of Sith left in him.

This situation was ridiculously confusing, and that was _ignoring_ the time-travel part. Darkness and light coinciding was such an unfamiliar concept, and Anakin wanted to know _more_ , but a part of him felt that he shouldn't, while another told him to go ahead. Anakin's head was practically spinning. _He needed answers._

He wondered what Revan thought of the situation. He had so far said very little, but it didn't take much for Anakin to figure out that Revan's sudden separation from his world pretty much shattered him. Anakin would probably feel the same way.

"But enough of that topic," Palpatine said, "I had another reason for which I summoned you."

"And what's that?"

Palpatine sighed. "I hope you trust me, Anakin."

"Of course!"

"I need you," Palpatine said, "to be the eyes, ears, and voice of the Republic."

* * *

_"You're up early," Bastila said, still laying in bed with her eyes half-open._

_"Soldier's routine," Revan replied as he splashed some cold water on his face._

_Bastila got up to lean on her new husband's arms. "Still a little bit of that life left over, I see?"_

_"That, or it's the hangover," Revan joked as looked into his new wife's eyes._

_"I told you not to drink too much," Bastila laughed back, reminiscing on their wedding night. "Sleep it off."_

_"I've tried that for the past week," Revan replied._

_"Either way, it's well before sunrise, and I'm still tired," replied Bastila as she ran her fingers down his back._

_Revan took a hold of her hands and gave them a kiss. "I suppose a little more sleep wouldn't hurt."_

It had been four years. Four years since Revan had seen his wife, looked in her eyes, felt the warmth of her hands. Four years since he had told her he loved her. And now?

Now he would never get to again. All that now remained of her was the picture of her he always carried in his pocket. She was leaning on his shoulder, both smiling in front of a beach on Alderaan. It was during their honeymoon together. The couple decided to explore the galaxy some more, but this time, look at all the _nice_ locations. He remembered visiting Corellia and Ithor, as well.

It was a better time then. The Sith were defeated, the galaxy was at peace, and the only thing bothering him was the occasional dream or nightmare of his past. He was at peace, happy. Then Vitiate happened.

Revan missed his wife dearly. He missed his friends, he missed his droids, he missed his ship, he missed his _world._

But he was here for a reason, for the Force did not play tricks, and that reason was becoming rapidly clear - and the war was not the entirety of that reason.

Revan knew for a fact that Palpatine was up to something. The look in his eyes, his insistence that Count Dooku needed to die, his very presence - it was all unsettling. That was only coupled with the biggest mystery: it was _hidden._

Palpatine wanted no one to see him for what he truly was, and it seemed he had kept the Jedi from discovering his little secret. Revan, however, was not so blind. That did, however, result in the entire focus of the plan getting shifted.

He instructed the Jedi to allow no one he does not personally choose to know his identity. Now, the official story was now that 'Revan' was the name given to him by the people he had stayed with in the Outer Rim, and his real name was now Elijah Zaykanian.

Revan needed to work behind the scenes, not directly in the show, because that, Revan suspected, was where the real battle was being held. When the time was right, Revan would reveal himself. But the time was not yet right. If he was revealed too early, whoever was pulling the strings would qui9ckly set Revan back before he could even begin. He needed to prove himself before showing the truth.

Revan now had several priorities. For one, he needed to weaken Palpatine's hold on the Senate - or, at least, his hold on the military. The Senate had become very corrupt, so that would be a good place to start. He was already researching potential Senators and other influential figures to contact.

Secondly, he needed to loosen Palpatine's clear hold on Anakin - or better yet, sever it entirely. Some inquiry made it clear that the two had formed a close relationship, but Revan sensed there was more to it that the Jedi did not see. And even if Palpatine was not influencing the boy as Revan had thought, Revan felt that Anakin needed a guide along his conflicted path.

Thirdly, he needed to place the Republic on the winning side of this war. Not only would it ease things up, but it would add to his own circle of influence, take away from Palpatine's, and impress enough people to get a following. He needed to get control of the military through whatever means necessary, and this was the best way of going about it.

And fourthly, learn as much as he could about the Maul situation, and act accordingly. It would be wise to convince Maul to join him, but it would have to be done carefully and in secret, because the Jedi would never ally themselves with a Sith. But Revan would need to learn more before acting, so he set the thought aside for until he got to Mandalore.

The difficulty was in getting Skywalker to come _with_ him. He made the mistake of taking the day to rest, and now Anakin was made a member of the Jedi Council (without being made a Master, oddly enough).

"Master Revan?"

Revan turned around in his seat to see Skywalker standing at the doorway.

"Please, just call me Revan," he replied. "In all honesty, I have doubts as to whether or not I will _keep_ the rank."

Anakin bowed his head and took a seat in the meditation chamber. "You wanted to speak with me?"

"So you're part of the Council, but not a Master," Revan reiterated.

"I know, it's ridiculous _,_ " Anakin replied.

"Doesn't even make sense," Revan stated. "If they don't trust you to be a Master, why are you on the Jedi Council? I'm a Master, and I have to hold a debate whenever I want them to even just _hear_ me."

Anakin took a seat. "But you didn't summon me to talk about that, did you?"

"Very perceptive, young Skywalker," Revan replied as he leaned forward, observing the young Knight. "So, tell me," he began, "why _did_ you kill Count Dooku?"

Anakin looked downward and shook his head. "I _knew_ you were going to ask me that."

"I am not here to condemn you," Revan stated. "I am here to help you."

"Why?" Anakin said, looking up.

"Is it not the Jedi way?" Revan simply replied. "Should I not seek to assist you in your struggles? Is it not the duty of a Jedi Master to guide others? Or is the title merely an excuse to bark orders to your lessers?"

Anakin took a deep sigh, trying to collect his words. "He started... this _whole_ war," Anakin replied. "Millions are dead, more are suffering, and..." He quickly tore off his right glove to reveal a cybernetic hand. "And this war has left me with scars of my own."

Revan paused and looked Anakin in the eye. "So it was justice, then?" he asked. Anakin nodded.

Revan took another moment to pause. "Count Dooku _did_ deserve to die," Revan began. "Of that, there is no denial. He _is_ responsible for this war and all that came with it. But do you know _why_ what you did was wrong?"

Anakin looked to Revan, expecting an answer.

"Think for a moment," Revan said, "what did it accomplish? A momentary feeling of vengeful satisfaction? What could have been accomplished if he had been allowed to live? But that thought didn't pass through your head, did it?"

Anakin shook his head.

"The reason why is very simple, Anakin," Revan stated. "You don't know _how._ The problem with the Jedi is that they teach the suppression of emotion. The problem with that teaching is when all that bottled-up emotion comes up in a moment like that, you don't know how to handle it. So what do you do? You lose control, because you don't know how to handle your most hated enemy being at your mercy. The Jedi taught you self-suppression instead of self-control, so it came back to bite you."

"But isn't self-control what the Jedi have always taught?" asked Anakin.

"Self-control is using your emotions, yet keeping them in check," Revan answered. "Self-suppression is allowing nothing to come out."

"But what kind of emotion?" Anakin asked again.

"Every kind," Revan replied. "Love and joy, hate and anger alike. None of these are evil, none of them are good; it all relies on how they are used. Let's take the Sith, for instance. Why are they evil?"

"Normally, I would say because they use the Dark Side," Anakin answered.

"You are partially correct," said Revan. "The Sith are evil because they have no self-control. They constantly feed their hate, anger, jealousy, and whatever else without care. To put it simply, they are enslaved to their own emotions, and thus enslaved to the Dark Side. But the Jedi aren't much different."

"They're not?" Anakin sounded surprised.

"They are the inverse and the same at once," Revan explained. "The Light Side fears the Dark Side, and vice versa. Thus, the Jedi have enslaved themselves to the Light by forbidding attachment out of their fear of the Dark Side."

"Yet fear, itself, _is_ the path to the Dark Side," Anakin said, shaking his head at the irony.

"Now you're beginning to see what I see," Revan said, leaning back.

"So how do I control my emotions, then?" Anakin asked.

"It can be a difficult thing to learn, especially given your current training," Revan replied, "but start with letting them rise. Allow yourself to love, to hate, to feel joy, to feel anger. There is no special technique or meditative trance to solve your problem, but daily meditations on things such as peace and control will help substantially."

"Something like that could get me in serious trouble," Anakin said. He wasn't wrong. Attachment was still, of course, forbidden, regardless of what Revan taught.

"I have a solution for that, actually," Revan said. "Do you know how I managed to get married as a Jedi and still get promoted to Master?"

"The rules were different then?" Anakin guessed.

"Not really," Revan answered. "I just made myself so useful and popular that kicking me out would have caused far more harm than good. You, yourself, are already on your way to such a status."

"I suppose I _am_ quite popular," Anakin admitted. "But I don't think I'm quite at your point, either."

"Would you like to fix that?" Revan offered.

"What do you mean?"

"For starters, come with me to Mandalore," Revan answered as he rose from his seat. "I was already planning on going, and while we're there, I can teach you some more, away from prying eyes."

"I can't go to Mandalore!" Anakin exclaimed.

"Why not?"

"I-I have an assignment," Anakin stuttered. "And it's confidential."

Revan's instincts forced him into a realization. "It's connected to your Council situation, isn't it?"

"I'm not allowed to say," Anakin replied, getting up, himself.

"I'm gonna take that as a 'yes'," Revan replied, thoughts and ideas streaming through his mind. "What did they tell you to do?"

Anakin began heading towards the door. "I already said I can't say."

Revan followed him out. "Anakin, I can already sense your anger about it. Please, tell me."

" _I can't,_ " Anakin sternly replied.

"Yes, you can," Revan replied. "Please, let me help."

Anakin stopped in the middle of his tracks and looked Revan in the eyes. "Why do you care?" he demanded. "Ever since we've met, you've taken a _lot_ of interest in me for _no_ apparent reason. So _why_ do you care?"

"Because when I look at you, I see me!" Revan exclaimed, pointing at himself. He recomposed himself, then began again. "Anakin, you are _powerful_ _,_ you are _talented,_ but you're also conflicted. You feel love, and think you shouldn't. You do bad things for good reasons, and you think it's undoubtedly _wrong,_ and that was _me_ when I was your age. I want to help you because I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did. What if you're forced into a choice between Light and Dark, like I was? What if you don't know how to wield both? I didn't know, so what did I do? I turned into a Sith Lord and began conquering the galaxy, taking other Jedi along with me!

"Like it or not, your choices _will_ shape the face of the galaxy, just as mine did - nay, more so. You're the _Chosen One._ How can you expect to free others if you, yourself, are a slave? I only want to teach you to be free so that you may pass that knowledge to others. So I beg you: let me help you. Not only for the good of the galaxy, but for your own good, as well. Let me teach you, so that you can become the greatest you can be, and so you can finally be free from the bondage of the Jedi Code."

Anakin took a moment to consider Revan's words. "You really mean that?"

"Every word."

Anakin looked at the ground, his options spinning through his head, then looked back up.

"The Council would never approve," he stated. "But I suppose it's either that, or treason."

Revan didn't much like the sound of that. He liked Anakin's next words even less.


	8. From One Battle to Another

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the longer wait than usual. I was away for the weekend, and then I had writer's block for a few days, but I finally got it out. Enjoy!

_There is no emotion, there is peace._

_There is no ignorance, there is knowledge._

_There is no passion, there is serenity._

_There is no chaos, there is harmony._

_There is no death, there is the Force._

Such was the code of the Jedi Knights, and was the code that Obi-Wan Kenobi meditated on daily, repeating the words to himself as he pondered their meaning in a meditation chamber.

"There is no passion, there is serenity," he said to himself. Everything he needed was already his, for the Force was his ally.

"There is no chaos, there is harmony." To keep peace was the way of a Jedi.

"There is no death, there is the Force." The words did not come from Obi-Wan's mouth, but from Revan's. "Wise words."

"I didn't know you found wisdom in the code," Obi-Wan stated.

"The Jedi are not all lost," replied Revan. "Flawed and corrupt, yes, but there is still some wisdom to be found within them, just as there is with the Code."

"But that's not why you're here, is it?" asked Kenobi.

"No," Revan replied. "I am here to inform you that me and Anakin are going to Mandalore."

"Has Anakin not told you that he was on assignment?" Obi-Wan said with a frustrated sigh.

"He told me all about it," Revan replied. "I'm going to skip over all my problems with it and just cut to the part where it's _treason._ "

"Revan, we need to know more, and our current methods aren't cutting it," Kenobi insisted. "The Council feels it is growing too late, and you, yourself, are no stranger to drastic actions."

"Very well, I _will_ go over my problems," Revan stated before counting his statements off his fingers. "Firstly, what if you are discovered? The Jedi Order is hated by the public as-is. How do you think treason will be looked at? Secondly, Anakin is already close to the Chancellor and distant from the Council. Do you really wish to intensify that, especially if Palpatine really is up to something? Thirdly-"

"That's enough," Obi-Wan replied. "We understand the risks, but we are running out of options."

"Luckily for you, you now have a new one," Revan said.

"What? You?"

"I know what I'm doing."

"So what _do_ you intend to do, then?" Obi-Wan demanded.

"Start winning the war, gain a following," Revan simply answered. Obi-Wan could sense he wasn't telling much.

"For yourself, or the Jedi?" Obi-Wan answered.

"The very fact that it _is_ a question already answers it," Revan replied.

"Or perhaps we're not the enemies you think we are," Kenobi suggested.

"Not enemies, no," Revan agreed. "Just... _obstacles._ "

"Or maybe _we_ are just as interested in protecting the Republic as _you_ are." Obi-Wan's voice raised slightly as he got up.

"I do not deny that," Revan replied. "And you've done a very good job! Losing almost all of your public support and somehow receiving all of the blame for this war is an excellent handling of the situation!" Revan got up. "But I don't have much more time for debate, as my ship will be leaving in a few hours."

"You don't have the influence you once held, Revan, "Obi-Wan warned as Revan turned to the door. "Be careful not to overstep your bounds."

"If it makes you feel any better," Revan responded, "you'll find the next phase of my plan to be far more agreeable." And with that, Revan left.

* * *

"I don't think I've ever met a Jedi with _half_ the audacity Revan has," Mace Windu stated.

"And he's already influencing Anakin," Obi-Wan added. "I spoke to him earlier to exchange goodbye's; he seemed quite set on his new path."

"Giving Anakin dangerous answers, Revan is," said Yoda. "An untested path, Revan walks. Lead to corruption, it can."

The Jedi had an official High Council, yes, but Masters Yoda, Mace Windu, and Obi-Wan Kenobi were pretty much the _higher_ council. The most important matters were discussed in private between these three before being brought to the Council - if at all.

"Revan is going to cause a division," said Mace. "More and more Jedi will rally behind him, just as they did during the Mandalorian War, and we cannot allow that to happen."

"He said it himself," Obi-Wan added. "He considers us _obstacles_. Obstacles in the way ending this war, not players in ending it." Obi-Wan paused to consider his next words. "I worry he may be right in some respects," he finally said, shaking his head.

"How so?" said Windu, Yoda considering Obi-Wan's words.

"Perhaps we shouldn't shove Revan to the side," Obi-Wan answered. "In terms of keeping the Code, he's the _worst_ Jedi I've ever seen, yes, but this is an area he very much understands."

"What are you saying?" asked Mace.

"I'm only saying we don't discount him based on his philosophy," Obi-Wan replied. "Keep an eye on him, set boundaries, yes, of course, but he is not an ordinary Jedi. We shouldn't treat him like one."

"That doesn't change how dangerous Revan is," Mace replied. "And I have my doubts as to whether he will _keep_ to his boundaries, regardless of whether or not we expand them."

"If we do not at least _try_ to work with him instead of against him," Obi-Wan argued, "a schism _will_ happen even sooner. If we can work with him, we may delay it or stop it all together."

"Steadfast in his path, Revan is," Yoda said after his moment of thought. "If continue to push against him, we do, only further away shall we drive him and his followers. But encourage his teachings, we must not."

"Expanding Revan's boundaries may cause him to push them even further," said Windu.

"I understand, but he is not an enemy that needs to be made." Obi-Wan stroked his beard as he considered his next words. "I'm not saying I agree with Revan at all, but I feel giving him room to work would solve more problems than it would create. The only alternative is trying to change Revan into us, and as Master Yoda said, that's not possible."

"Very well, but what of Skywalker?" asked Windu.

Obi-Wan thought in silence. "I don't know," he finally answered. "All we can do is try to influence him away from Revan's teachings."

"Be wary, we must," stated Yoda, the other two Masters looking to him. "Many other problems, out there still are. Allow ourselves to become distracted, we cannot, or for Sidious, come sooner, victory may. Treat Revan as an ordinary Jedi, we will not; sent him here for a reason, the Force has. Continue to trust in it, we must. Look to it for guidance, we shall."

Mace and Obi-Wan nodded in agreement.

* * *

It was kind of funny how little the design of the bridge of a ship has changed in the last four thousand years. There was still the little pits in the floor, a curved window, control panels everywhere. It made sense, of course, but Revan found it funny nonetheless.

Clone troopers of the 501st Legion saluted him as he made his way to the bridge, where Anakin Skywalker and Admiral Yularen were waiting for him. Walking at Revan's side was ARC Captain Fordo, whom he had requested to join him.

"Anakin, Admiral," Revan greeted as he met the two standing around a holotable, surrounded by busy clones working at consoles of their own.

"General," Yularen greeted back, Anakin nodding to the two.

On the holotable was a map of Sundari, the capital of Mandalore, the city of Maul's refuge, and as Anakin explained, it was already under siege.

"So that now makes our objective finding Maul," Revan extrapolated. "With the additional troops, it should be far easier to both search for Maul _and_ keep him from escaping."

"Not to mention two more Jedi," Anakin added. "We should probably divert more attention to the sewers and undercity, since we now have more troops."

"My thoughts exactly," Revan replied. "An undercity like that would make an all-too-good hiding spot." He turned to Yularen. "I also recommend keeping a Venator just above the city, so we can keep any unauthorized ships from leaving, as well as make the trip shorter for military ships."

"As you wish, sir," replied Yularen before heading to the bridge.

Revan put a hand to his chin as if to stroke the beard beneath his mask. "Besieging Mandalorians," he chuckled. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"What makes you say that?" asked Anakin.

"Not sure if things have changed or not," Revan began, "but back in my day, the Mandalorians simply put up too much of a fight to sustain a siege. They tore away so many resources it stopped being worth it - and that was _before_ the standard-issue jetpacks, flamethrowers, and all that."

"Well, the Mandalorians aren't what they used to be," Anakin responded.

"I suppose I just hit 'em _that_ hard," said Revan before several calls between the bridge crew indicated that the ship was about to enter hyperspace.

"How fast are the hyperdrives on this thing?" asked Revan.

"One past lightspeed," Anakin answered.

"The ones I used to command were only two past," Revan replied. "A lot smaller, too."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Anakin replied as the black void before the ship began to stretch. The stars turned from dots into lines as the ship accelerated to lightspeed, the sight breaking into a blue wormhole when they entered hyperspace.

"Numbers came in for the battle," Anakin said as he and Revan walked away from the bridge. "Apparently over half the attacking force was destroyed before they could get away - and they pulled in a _lot_ of ships."

"Strategy will win you many a victory," said Revan. "A good enough plan can make numbers irrelevant."

"A perfect sum of the war so far," Anakin replied as the two stopped once more around the holotable.

"What do you think, Fordo?" Revan asked his new second-in-command.

"I think we can handle it, sir," the clone replied. "Not too much strategy involved in a siege, usually just intel and sealing off holes."

"And that means?" asked Revan, already knowing the answer.

"That means we need to divert attention to any unknown escape routes," Fordo answered quickly.

"Precisely," Revan replied. "Problem with a city like this is that there's a lot of them, so capturing Maul quickly is a high priority."

"Ahsoka should already be making process," Anakin added. "The best soldiers in the GAR are on this; shouldn't be too difficult."

"Don't underestimate a Sith, Anakin," Revan warned. "I'm sure we are able to do this, but _never_ assume your enemy is incompetent. Act not on fear, but never act on overconfidence, either."

Anakin nodded in understanding.

"Fordo, I want you with me," Revan said to the captain. "I expect to be sending you and your men on special assignments. What exactly do you specialize in?"

"To put it simply, sir? Blowing things up," Fordo answered, his tone reflecting a smirk beneath his helmet. " _Professionally,_ of course."

"Then I will be sure to put your skills to good use," Revan replied. "For now, prep and debrief your men, the trip shouldn't take long. Look over the map and see if you can find anything useful."

"Right away, sir," Fordo nodded before leaving.

"I will be in my quarters," Revan stated, standing straight. "Someone alert me when we reach Mandalore."

"Sure thing," replied Anakin.

"Can't say I've ever met a Jedi like him, General," Admiral Yularen commented.

"I don't think _anyone_ has, Admiral."

* * *

"Master Kenobi? Can you hear me?" said to Revan to the hologram in front of him.

"I can hear you, Master Revan." Obi-Wan's voice was static, but it came through.

"I had a favor to ask," Revan stated. "Don't worry, it's nothing you'd consider out-of-the-ordinary."

Obi-Wan gave Revan a curious look. "Very well..." he replied as he put his hand to his beard.

"I am need of intel on two specific Separatist worlds," Revan answered.

"And what are they?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Hypori and Foerost," Revan answered, making Obi-Wan's curiosity beam further.

"The... two of the most most heavily defended worlds in Separatist space?" Obi-Wan reiterated, shaking his head at the obscurity.

"And two of the most valuable," Revan completed with a raised finger. "Another major shipyard under Republic control would help significantly, and I have a few ideas on how we can put the droid foundries on Hypori to good use."

"Yes, but we've already _tried_ taking those worlds," Obi-Wan replied. "The best we could do was a siege of Foerost, and the battle at Hypori went horrifically!"

"I will handle that," Revan assured. "Just get me what intel you can."

"Do you have any semblance of a plan?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Somewhat," Revan answered. "After I finish with Mandalore, I will begin launching hit-and-run attacks on Separatist worlds near my targets. They will be forced to spread their fleets thinner, and, at the opportune moments, I will strike."

"Are you sure their numbers won't make that plan pointless?"

"I've fought against greater odds before," said Revan. "Winning against impossible odds is my specialty, Master Kenobi. The Mandalorians, Darth Malak, Vitiate..."

"Point taken." Obi-Wan sighed in thought. "I will have to speak with the Council about this, but I will see what I can do - but on one condition."

"And what's that?"

"Try to cut down on your... _moral shortcuts,_ " said Obi-Wan. "The numbers for the attack on Coruscant came in. You won us a remarkable victory, I'll give you that. However, I'm told you devoted next-to-no troops to protecting the civilian zones, which resulted in higher casualties than we would have liked. I should like you to try and avoid that in the future."

"And what if I have reason to?" Revan asked, slightly annoyed by the request.

"We _are_ at war, Revan," Obi-Wan answered. "Do what you truly must, but if there is another way, seek it out."

"Very well," Revan conceded. "You do what you can on your end, and I will do what I can over here. Do we have an agreement?"

"We do," Obi-Wan nodded. "And... one more thing."

Revan crossed his arms and tilted his head.

"If you truly want to train Anakin," Kenobi said, "at the very least, keep him off the Dark Side until you know it won't make him a Sith, please."

Revan smiled beneath his mask, amused by Obi-Wan's understandable lack of knowledge regarding the area. "As was always the plan, Master Kenobi."

The gadget on Revan's wrist flickered, indicating the time. "It would seem we are going to arrive in ten minutes," Revan stated as he got up. "Wish me luck!"

"May the Force be with you," Obi-Wan said instead. "There's no such _thing_ as luck."

Revan chuckled. He was beginning to like Master Kenobi.


	9. Mandalore the Fallen

Mandalore had changed quite considerably since Revan's last visit. What was once full of forests and grassy plains was now a desert wasteland, its cities now contained in massive domes so as to protect its citizens from the harsh environment outside.

The city inside was full of fires and unhappy citizens being escorted by clone troopers, many of the buildings coated in massive murals depicting the Mandalorian history. He chuckled and couldn't help but stare for some time when he saw himself on one of them. _At least the Mandos remember me_ , he thought.

"I was told Master Skywalker would be showing up." Revan turned to see a young Togruta woman looking at him with her arms crossed. He immediately recognized her, as well as the Mandalorian standing beside her.

"Miss Tano, Lady Bo-Katan," he greeted with a nod, walking towards them. "Those are your names, correct?"

Bo-Katan stared suspiciously from beneath her helmet.

"Anakin should be out in a few moments," Revan replied. "He's speaking with Commander Rex."

"And who are _you?_ " Ahsoka asked.

"My name is Elijah Zaykanian," he answered, holding out his hand for a handshake. "I've just begun working with Anakin."

"Good to have someone else on our side," Ahsoka replied with a pleased smile as she shook his hand.

"Judging by him so far, yeah, I think he'll do pretty good," said Anakin with a laugh, walking toward them with Rex.

"Anakin!" Ahsoka called out as she walked towards them, both of them picking up their pace. The pair were close, but that was to be expected between master and apprentice. The two were greeting each other and exchanging some words when Revan's attention was diverted by Bo-Katan.

"That mask is Mandalorian," she stated. "Where did you get it?"

"A long story, to be sure," Revan responded, "though I can assure you that I wear it out of nothing but honor toward the original wearer."

"I've never heard of you," Bo-Katan stated.

Revan smiled beneath his mask. _I think you have, actually,_ he thought, but knew he couldn't say. "That would be because I've been away for some time," he answered instead. "I have, however, already led the Republic defense of Coruscant and assisted with the rescue of Chancellor Palpatine, so I already seem to be proving myself."

"What do you mean you _led_ the battle?"

"I waltzed up and took command," Revan answered with a shrug. "It went rather well."

"Then it's good to have a strategist like yourself on our side," said Bo-Katan with a nod.

"Yes, he does know what he's doing," Anakin stated as he and Ahsoka joined them. "People like Master Zaykanian are what the Republic needs right now."

"And people like Master Skywalker are just as valuable," Revan replied with a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "As well as many other people, I imagine."

"Shall we head to the command center, sirs?" Captain Fordo suggested.

"Yes, we should," Ahsoka replied. "We'll catch you up over there."

Revan nodded before Ahsoka began leading them to their destination.

* * *

How could Sidious have possibly prepared for this? An ancient Jedi, so forgotten that all that is known of him is his days as the Dark Lord of the Sith, coming back to stop him?

Already he was pulling young Skywalker away from him with his influence, and he _still_ didn't know how. Skywalker was _hiding_ something from him, and he needed to know _what._

Nevertheless, Skywalker wasn't the only problem. Revan was a tactical genius on the battlefront, and he proved that on Coruscant. If he were to take command of the Republic military, all could very well be lost. The fear keeping the people focused on him would dissipate, and Revan would take Palpatine's place as the savior of the Republic.

But, of course, the best planners were the best improvisers, and Sidious was one of the best of all, which he made perfectly clear during his holocall with General Grievous.

"This turn of events is unexpected, General," the Dark lord stated, "but it is not too late for us. You do not realize it, but Elijah Zaykanian is the greatest threat we have so far faced. His elimination is of the utmost priority."

"Then allow me to hunt him, as I have been doing with the other Jedi throughout the course of this war," Grievous proudly offered.

"Not even you are capable of defeating him, General. We shall have to rely on _other_ means."

"Surely, he cannot be-"

"He is more far powerful than you can conceive, General." Grievous' lack of knowledge on these matters was, more often than not, annoying, but he served his purpose well enough. But by the looks of these events, Sidious may be forced to let Grievous in on the plot, at least to a certain degree.

"For the time being," Sidious commanded, "begin intensifying your attacks on the Republic. Zaykanian does not yet have the authority to do anything of value about them, and the Republic's shift of focus will prevent him from ever getting it."

"With pleasure, my lord," Grievous replied with a bow.

Sidious was confident this would at least slow Revan's progress, but he could not help but feel at least a little doubt.

Darth Bane had once called Revan was the greatest Sith to ever live, in both terms of power and his capabilities of a Sith Lord.

Perhaps his return to the Jedi had weakened his skills, but Sidious could not afford to take that chance. He was very clearly still very practiced in the arts of the Dark Side, and he was clearly also tactically intelligent and willing to sacrifice innocent lives in order to achieve his goals.

Sidious knew very little of what Revan had become, but the fact that he was a threat was a concrete certainty.

Even so, Sidious couldn't help but smile at the possibilities of his uses.

* * *

"So far, we've made progress, but not quite enough," Ahsoka began at the palace-turned-command center. Before her was an image of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who held his chin in his hand as his hooded figure listened intently, as well as a map of the city. Around him stood Bo-Katan, Revan, Anakin, and Commander Rex. "We've captured Prime Minister Almec, and I had a run-in with Maul yesterday."

"And how did that go?" Anakin asked.

"We exchanged some words, but we didn't learn much - aside from a name," Ahsoka answered. "Darth Sidious."

Anakin's eyes widened, and he quickly turned to Revan, who shook his head.

"Did he say anything _about_ the name?" Revan asked, crossing his arms.

"He said Sidious would soon 'be the controlling interest in the galaxy', but nothing else."

 _I knew it,_ Revan muttered to himself. He knew there was a puppet-master, and it now seemed his name was Darth Sidious - and also the name of Palpatine, he guessed. "Do we know anything about Sidious?" he asked out loud.

"Nothing. That's why we contacted Master Kenobi," Ahsoka answered. She looked to Anakin. "I was also wondering if _you_ knew anything."

"A little," Anakin replied. "Obi-Wan told me that the Council thinks he's behind the war, but not much else."

"And what do you know, Master Kenobi?" Revan asked, pacing the room with his arms behind his back.

Obi-Wan paused a moment to consider his words. "The Council has its suspicions, but nothing conclusive just yet," he finally stated.

Bo-Katan motioned an astromech droid away before Kenobi continued.

"Darth Sidious is the Sith Lord who orchestrated the Clone War, as Anakin has told you," he began. "What he hasn't told you is that we believe he has been playing both sides from the beginning."

"And what have you done _about_ that suspicion?" Revan inquired.

"We're following up every possible lead we can find, I assure you," Obi-Wan replied. "As I was saying, I first heard the name from Count Dooku, though for obvious reasons, learning more from him is no longer possible."

"What do you mean?" asked Ahsoka.

"Has Anakin not told you?" asked Obi-Wan, turning to his former apprentice.

"I only just got here," Anakin said quietly.

Obi-Wan turned again to Ahsoka, a look of concern for his old friend on his face. "Count Dooku is dead," he stated. "Anakin killed him as we were rescuing the Chancellor."

"And that makes Maul our only remaining link to Sidious," Revan extrapolated, Ahsoka giving Anakin a look of sympathy.

"That is correct," Obi-Wan replied. "The capture of Maul is crucial to stopping Sidious."

"Not necessarily," said Revan, which gave him several looks from everyone in the circle.

"Maul is crucial, yes," Revan explained, "but not specifically his _capture._ "

Everyone looked to each other, trying to perceive what Revan was saying, before Obi-Wan realized it. "Are you suggesting we _work with him?_ " he exclaimed.

"One does not need to be on our side to be an asset," Revan replied. "Maul has knowledge, yes, but also power - power over the criminal underworld, a total wealth of information. If we were to imprison him, he loses that power, and we lose the opportunity to make that power work for _us._ "

"Working with a former Sith Lord is off the table," Obi-Wan said.

"Why? Because we cannot trust him?" Revan laughed.

"Yes!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. "How can you believe working with a Sith Lord is a good idea?"

"We do not need to trust him, nor work with him," Revan replied. "We need to make him work _for_ us."

"This discussion is over," Obi-Wan commanded firmly. "We are not doing anything with Maul other than capturing him."

"This..." Revan sarcastically laughed as he buried his head in his hands. "This is why the Jedi are _losing,_ Kenobi, but _fine._ We do it your way." Revan shook his head. "Alright, Plan B. We lure him out."

"And do you have an idea on how?" asked Bo-Katan. Revan could tell she didn't appreciate his previous input, but he didn't much care.

"Some bait would be nice," Revan replied. "What does Almec know?"

"We haven't gotten around to interrogating him yet," Ahsoka answered.

"Then I recommend doing that, we need info," he suggested next.

"While you're doing that, I'd like to speak to Master Zaykanian alone for a moment," Master Kenobi requested. The others nodded and promptly left, Bo-Katan taking a moment to eye Revan suspiciously.

"Before we leave," Bo-Katan interrupted, "I would like to say we are expecting a mercenary to arrive here soon. He's had dealings with us before. We can trust him."

"Excellent," said Anakin. "Let's go."

After they did so, Obi-Wan continued speaking to Revan, quieter this time. "What happened to our agreement?"

"Our agreement is why I conceded so quickly," Revan assured. "I am simply trying to do all I can."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "Yes, but what made you think for a _moment_ that we would have listened to that plan?"

"Maul has been out of the loop for, what, fifteen years?" Revan replied. "His info is valuable, yes, but not nearly enough - and that's ignoring the fact that I doubt Sidious would openly share the entirety of his plans with anyone. His connection to the crime lords could unveil even _more_ information."

"That doesn't matter," Kenobi insisted. "If we become Sidious to defeat him, then have we truly won?"

Revan gave an annoyed sigh. "Why must you believe only in extremes? I am not suggesting thinking like Sith, I am suggesting thinking like planners."

"Manipulating Sith Lords _isn't_ thinking like them?" Obi-Wan sounded a little annoyed, himself. "I understand you're trying to do the right thing, Revan, I truly do, but we mustn't bow to methods such as these, lest we become what we have sworn to destroy."

Revan sighed again, deeper this time. "For the sake of our agreement, I will argue no further," he conceded. "I will say only this: the right thing and the good thing are not always necessarily the same."

"I shall consider your words," Obi-Wan replied as he was about to end the transmission.

"But I have one more topic to discuss," Revan interrupted.

"Oh?"

"When Dooku told you about Sidious," Revan asked, "what did he say?"

Obi-Wan paused to think. "He told me he was in control of the Senate, but he did not elaborate."

"And who is in control of the Senate?" Revan asked, already knowing the answer.

He could barely believe it. The Jedi were straight-up _told_ who Sidious was, and they were still trying to figure it out?

"Sidious is _not_ Palpatine," Obi-Wan dismissed. "As I told Dooku, the Jedi would be aware of it."

"So you decide the fate of the galaxy based on your pride?" Four thousand years to improve, and the Jedi were even worse than before.

"You could not investigate or even _consider_ it?" he continued. "You had to _assume_ that, since the _all-knowing Jedi_ couldn't _possibly_ miss a Sith Lord standing _right_ in front of them, you didn't need to _bother_ even just giving a midichlorian test, just as a little precaution?"

"We're not going to waste resources investigating an impossibility," Obi-Wan replied coolly. "I cannot be sure, but I would guess somebody is pulling _Palpatine's_ strings."

"Then it is no wonder the Jedi are losing," Revan replied before cutting the transmission. _Pathetic,_ he found himself muttering as he shook his head. The final nail had been slammed into the coffin. Revan could not trust the Jedi to help him - save for two. Skywalker and Tano.

He had thought about it for some time, but he was planning on taking Ahsoka Tano under his wing, just as he was doing with Anakin. Revan needed allies, and Ahsoka's mistrust of the Jedi was something he could play off of. But first things first.

"Anakin," he said into his comlink.

"Yeah?" Skywalker's voice came out the other end.

"When you can, tell Ahsoka," Revan said.

"About what?"

"About me."

Revan could feel Anakin's momentary confusion from the other side, but he complied.

Captain Fordo came bursting through the door.

"Sir!" he shouted. "There's been an attack."

"It's about time!" Revan replied to Fordo's confusion. But before he could say anything, Revan disappeared into a blur as he dashed away, faster than his eyes could perceive.


	10. Information Hunting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like everyone to know that I now expect chapters to take a couple of weeks to come out instead of the previous one week wait. Many apologies, but I think it has to do with me having to write more original scenes due to the progression of the story (not that I'm complaining). Thank you for your patience.

_Why does he want me to tell her?_ Anakin asked himself, interrupting the peace of mind he previously held during his walk to Almec.

"Anakin, what's wrong?"

Ahsoka's voice snapped Anakin back into reality. How would he tell her? he was asking himself. A four thousand year-old Jedi Master time-travelling to their time? Even Revan was bewildered!

"Nothing wrong," Anakin replied. "Just... different."

"Well, I guess a lot _did_ happen," said Ahsoka. "Count Dooku, the battle, the Chancellor..." She trailed off, looking at Anakin curiously. "There's something else, isn't there?"

Anakin shook his head. "There's... a lot of _strange_ things going on right now, Ahsoka. Not even the Council can really wrap their heads around it."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean things are changing," Anakin answered. "Finding Maul, the Separatists losing their leader, the... _stuff_ happening between the Jedi and the Chancellor..." Anakin stopped and scanned his surroundings for anyone within earshot until he and Ahsoka were in the clear. "...ancient Jedi coming back from the dead."

"What are you talking about?" Ahsoka took a step back.

"We've been keeping a secret at his request," Anakin continued, "but Master Zaykanian isn't who he says he is."

"Then..." Ahsoka recomposed herself after her moment of surprise. "Then who is he?"

"A long time ago, there was a Jedi named Revan," Anakin began. "When Mandalore went to war with the Republic, he led them to an impossible victory. After leading the Republic once more against the Sith Empire, he disappeared in the Unknown Regions to destroy another Sith." Anakin paused. "Then, he woke up here."

Ahsoka was silent for a moment. She was confused, surprised - the same way everyone who knew had felt.

"Why does he want _me_ to know?" Ahsoka asked after a moment.

"I'm not sure," Anakin answered. "He does a lot of things that are... _questionable_ for all sorts of reasons - like his idea about Maul earlier. But it looks like he's doing nothing but confuse us this time." Anakin sighed, then looked Ahsoka in the eye. "We all know he's up to something. The only argument is whether or not we can trust him."

"Do you trust him?"

" _Trust_ is a strong word, but so far, he's done nothing but show that he's on our side."

As the two continued walking, Ahsoka shook her head, taking in the information.

"The Mandalorian War..." she said to herself, trying to recollect. "That was almost four thousand years ago!"

"As far as anyone can tell, the Force sent him forward in time just as he won the fight," Anakin stated, still finding humor in the utter absurdity. "Still, we're pretty convinced he's here for a reason."

"That's... _insane._ " Ahsoka shook her head. "Who else knows?"

"Me, everyone on the Council, and you."

"Why doesn't he want anyone to know?"

Anakin shook his head. "We don't really know. The original plan was to tell anyone who asked, but after he helped rescue the Chancellor, he requested that only anyone he personally chose could know. I'll have to ask him about it later."

"Seems strange that he's keeping so many secrets," Ahsoka stated. "I mean, I get the big change and all, but you'd think a Jedi would be more trusting of the Council."

"Most would," Anakin replied, "but Revan and the Council of his time - _and_ our time, now, too - disagree a lot."

"On what?"

"Oh, you know," Anakin shrugged, "methods and philosophies, though his can be pretty extreme."

"How so?"

"Well, you've seen his methods," Anakin answered, "but I'd rather _he_ explain his philosophy. It's a little... _above and beyond_ what we've seen. Think Grey Jedi, but more complicated."

"Then I guess I'll have to ask him myself," said Ahsoka with a smirk. Just then, Anakin's holocomm began buzzing again. And, as it was last time, it was Revan.

"This is Skywalker," he acknowledged.

"Meet me once you're done, there's been an attack," he stated without greeting. "I should have some scramblings of a plan then."

Anakin and Ahsoka exchanged a glance.

"Plan for what?" Anakin asked.

"For putting a puzzle together," Revan replied sarcastically. "What do you think? Get over here."

"That was... quick," Ahsoka commented with a laugh before Anakin answered.

"Copy that, we'll meet you when we're done."

"Good. Revan out."

* * *

Ending his dash, Revan descended down the pit leading to the undercity. Unfortunately, all the troopers there were either tending wounds or suffering them, so he chose a gentler approach then he planned.

He slowly walked up to a wounded trooper who was calling for him. He knelt down and asked his name.

"Sterling, sir," he answered painfully. "You... you should know, sir..."

"Take it easy, Sterling," Revan replied soothingly. "It's gonna be alright. Take your time."

"Maul, he..." Sterling slowly struggled, "he cut right through us, asking about C-commander Tano."

So, Maul was after information? To be expected, of course, but it was something he could use, a point from which he could manipulate Maul into position. He took note and moved on.

"The ARC Trooper, Jesse," Sterling sputtered out, "Maul know he was older, somehow... looked in his mind." Sterling coughed and pulled Revan toward him by the shoulder. "And he took him! He took Jesse alive!"

This was definitely something Revan could use. He was already formulating a plan. But for now, he had other matters to attend to.

"You did well, trooper," Revan encouraged before getting up and raising his voice. "Every one of you excelled in your duties! Let it be known that the 501st is capable not only of scrapping bolt-bag Battle Droids, but of holding off not only the mighty Mandalorians themselves, but even a former Sith!"

Following Revan's example, the troopers that could joined in their own applause, a few cheers thrown in here and there as they celebrated the outcome of their battle.

Revan, and likely many of the troopers, fully knew that they were most likely intentionally left alive, but they celebrated regardless.

There was, of course, still the matter of the captured ARC Trooper - "Jesse", as he was called. It was to be assumed that there was no over-arching plan that Jesse could even know about to be extracted, so there was no risk there. It was unlikely that he was familiar enough with the logistics of the siege to be of any use in that regard, either, so Revan crossed that off, as well, leaving only Maul's lack of knowledge about Ahsoka.

The trooper would likely not be able to resist Sith interrogation methods, and if torture would be involved, he also may not survive, so it was too late to try and save him. Nevertheless, the information he possessed would not be detrimental in the hands of the enemy, so it was of no concern to Revan. Let the others worry about lives.

So, Maul captured a high-ranking trooper in order to attain information...

Revan was already having ideas. There were multiple paths he could take, and if Maul was in the business of taking prisoners...

After confirming with one of the clones that a medical transport was inbound, Revan contacted Anakin with instructions to meet him once he was finished with Almec. Then, he patched in with Admiral Yularen.

"General," the admiral greeted, "how may I be of assistance?"

"I need a full set of Clone Trooper armor shipped down here immediately," Revan commanded. "I'm also going to need some black, gold, and red armor paint."

"Trying to familiarize with the troops, I see?" the admiral guessed.

Revan chuckled. "Something like that."

"I shall send some down at once. Anything else?"

"Make sure I have a lot of paint, I may also be touching some... _other_ things up."

This received a curious look from the admiral. "Very well, sir," he complied with a raised eyebrow. "I should also like to add that the mercenary Lady Bo-Katan called in will be arriving shortly."

"Very good, Admiral. Zaykanian out."

* * *

Were it their custom, the Mandalorians would have stood at attention to welcome the arriving warrior. But it was not their custom, for one does not kneel to a brother. The Mandalorians were not a military, and rank did not separate one from another. Honor and deeds did, and while this warrior was worthy of his title of Mandalorian, both he and his brethren knew how to greet one another.

With a strong handshake did the warrior greet Ursa Wren, and with respect did they speak each other's names.

"Sedyn Merrick," she said. "It has been many years since we have met."

"Indeed it has, Lady Wren," Merrick responded with a nod, "and even longer since I have set foot on my home."

"Yet you've never stopped fighting for it."

"And I never will."

Sedyn's tall and lean figure was covered from head to toe in grey Mandalorian armor, a skull-like design on the his executioner's helmet. Two blasters were held at his hip, but among his other gadgets was what set him apart from his brothers.

A lightsaber.

Sedyn Merrick was what his order's namesake call a Grey Jedi. The Force was the sword and shield he wielded to fight for his people. He didn't care for ideologies or divisions. He wielded the Force as he needed it, and how he needed it. For above all else, he was Mandalorian, and the Force was but one more weapon in his arsenal.

"Would you care to update me on the situation?" Sedyn asked as he and Wren began walking into the city at a brisk pace.

"We've gained the support of more clones and two additional Jedi," Ursa stated, "but little else has changed since we called on you."

"Then I suppose we should start changing things," Sedyn replied. "Which Jedi came to our aid?"

"Anakin Skywalker, as well as one called Elijah Zaykanian," she answered.

"Never heard of Zaykanian," Sedyn stated flatly.

"Skywalker places great confidence in him, so make of that as you will," Ursa replied. "Aside from that, all I know of him is the rumor that he was heavily involved in the defense of Coruscant."

"I see. Anything else I need to know?"

"Nothing we haven't already told you." Ursa stopped as they reached the clones and Mandalorians guarding the gate. "Good luck," she nodded.

"A Mandalorian and Jedi alliance? I hardly think we shall need it," Sedyn joked. "Nonetheless, you, too."

Passing the gate guards with a nod, Sedyn was met with the sight of flames and war within the city. Slashed and torn murals littered the walls of the building, Republic gunships streaked across the sky, and all he could hear was the chatter of the military and the grumblings of citizens.

Sedyn turned to see a few clones calling his name. As he walked toward them, they saluted before the middle one - who was wearing extremely customized armor - spoke.

"Sedyn Merrick, sir?" the clone confirmed.

"That's me," he replied.

The clone nodded. "I'm Commander Rex, sir," he began. "Unfortunately, the Generals are preoccupied at the moment, but they will be with you shortly. In the mean time, perhaps I can take you to the palace?"

"Very well, trooper," Sedyn replied. "What exactly are the Jedi preoccupied with?"

"General Skywalker and Commander Tano are in the middle of an interrogation," Rex answered. "General Zaykanian is currently at the site of a recent attack nearby."

Sedyn furled his eyebrows behind his helmet. "Could you take me to him?"

"As you wish, sir." Rex shook his head. "If I may ask, what for?"

"I just want to talk to him," Sedyn replied.

"Very well. Right this way."

* * *

Water splashed beneath Revan's feet as he exited the sewers and entered the main hub once more.

"Anything, sir?" asked Captain Fordo, standing with his squad.

"Just wet boots," Revan replied as he squeezed some water from the bottom of his cape. "Are Skywalker and Tano here yet?"

"In a moment, sir," Fordo answered. "The mercenary is also on his way."

Revan took a seat on the ground as he removed his boots to pour out the water within them. "And this mercenary...?"

"Sedyn Merrick, sir," Fordo replied. "Mandalorian, as well as a 'Grey Jedi'. He's worked with both Mandalore and the Republic in the past, and he has a solid record."

"Yeah, doing what?" Revan wasn't interested in wasting time with mercenaries, though Merrick intrigued him. Nevertheless, investing in every intrigue would only slow him down. If the Mandalorian War taught him anything, it was how to properly manage resources. But he also wasn't going to jump to conclusions.

"Helping with Separatists or smaller jobs mainly, sir," Fordo answered. "If you'd like my input, sir..."

Revan took a moment to realize Fordo was asking permission. "Go ahead, captain, no need to ask," he said with a casual laugh.

"Thank you, sir," said Fordo. "As I was saying, I don't think he'll be, say, a major breakthrough, but he certainly won't be useless, either."

"And I never have been."

Revan and Fordo looked to their right to see none other than Sedyn Merrick, standing tall as Commander Rex followed.

Merrick looked curiously when he actually saw Revan, tilting his head as he stood in silence for a moment. "General... Zaykanian, I presume?"

"Is my mask making you uncomfortable?" Revan asked with a laugh - attempting to conceal his nervousness. Now, he had to worry about getting discovered by someone who was, for all he knew, a nobody.

"N-no," Sedyn shook it off to Revan's relief. "Just... you don't really look like the other Jedi."

Revan didn't believe that for a second. He would now have to keep an eye on Sedyn, as well.

"Well, I'm not _like_ the other Jedi," Revan said as he got up. "For one, I'm not a blasted idiot. Now, what do you want?"

"I... should be asking _you_ that," said Sedyn with a confused chuckle.

"Then put on some rubber boots and look for stuff in the sewer," Revan said without care as he put his boots back on.

Sedyn rolled his eyes. "Is this a joke?"

"Of course it is," Revan replied. "Just wait for Tano and Skywalker to get here, we'll see what happens from there."

Revan's sudden foolishness was entirely intentional - after all, who could ever suspect an imbecile to be Revan himself? - though he couldn't help but admit to himself that it came naturally. He became _quite_ a different man when around close friends.

"Master," came the voice of Anakin Skywalker, "you said you had a plan?"

"The rough beginnings of one, and I would rather discuss it away from prying eyes," Revan replied as he acknowledged Anakin and Ahsoka.

"This is the mercenary?" Ahsoka gestured to Sedyn.

"Sedyn Merrick," he introduced himself. "Thank you for coming to our aid."

"That's what Jedi are for," Ahsoka smiled as she shook his hand.

Ahsoka _needed_ to help people, as far as Revan could gather. Constantly, she was there to be a beacon of hope for those around her, much like Meetra Surik.

And like Meetra Surik, Revan suspected disagreements were sure to follow, as differing moral codes tended to cause. He now had an extra reason to tone down his... _tactical brutality._

"Troopers, evacuate the premise," Revan commanded. The wounded had already been evacuated, so all that remained to leave were a few able-bodied guards. After they had promptly left, Revan began.

"Now, this is by no means groundbreaking military strategy," he said, "but I think, odd as it is, it will serve our purposes quite well."


	11. Questions and Preparations

For years, the Dark Side had only been growing stronger. For years, the Light Side weakened as Darth Sidious' influence slowly gained more and more hold over the presence of the Force. For years, the darkness grew closer to victory with no challenge.

The something happened. It was small at first, and happened some days ago, but something, someone, a _presence_ , wouldn't move. When the darkness came for it, it stood its ground. It was no blinding light or deafening darkness, it was simply _there._ It was simply _the Force._

At first, it was nothing more than a strange anomaly. Then, it began to _grow._ It shoved the darkness and light alike aside as it carved its own territory, slowly, yet steadily, uninterrupted, among the realm of the Force.

And now, that presence was _here,_ on Mandalore, in Sundari.

Scouring the very undercity in which Maul hid himself.

He could not help but wonder if this was Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One of the Jedi Order, the very one he had been waiting for. But his instincts told him otherwise.

This presence was different. It was unaligned, clinging to neither light nor dark - no, that wasn't it. The light and dark clung to _it,_ as a Sith does to the dark, or a Jedi to the light.

And it was focused on _him,_ on Maul. It was _hunting_ him.

This war now had three centerpieces. Sidious, the Jedi, and whatever this was. And whatever it was, it was about to make no small changes to the course of history.

Maul needed to be cautious, but nevertheless, he needed knowledge before he could act. Ideally, he could trap and confront it, as he did with Ahsoka Tano. At the very least, one of the higher-ranking clones could prove mildly useful in terms of information.

Maul sensed Gar Saxon walk behind him, standing in silence as he awaited Maul's acknowledgement.

Maul simply turned his head, awaiting Saxon's words.

"The deed is done, my lord," he said. "Almec will no longer be a problem."

"Very good, Saxon," Maul replied. "There is something else, I sense?"

Saxon was silent for a moment as Maul turned to face him, gazing expectantly.

"Anakin Skywalker is here," he stated, "as well as two others. One of them is a decently well-known mercenary, the other a Jedi we... don't recognize."

Maul's gaze was all it took for Saxon to reveal what he hid. "One of the... more _educated_ among us pointed out that the other Jedi looked vaguely similar to Revan the Butcher. We checked some old paintings, and they do, indeed, look eerily similar."

Revan the Butcher was a name Maul didn't recognize. As such, he inquired about it.

"I can point you to someone who knows more," Saxon replied, "but Revan was... known for defeating our people four thousand years ago." He looked to the ground and shook his head, reminiscing on what the glory days of his people may have been like. "We still haven't recovered."

"And what do you make of this resemblance?"

"Some of us are thinking it's just a fear tactic the Republic is using," Saxon answered. "Others think he's really back, so I suppose it's working to an extent."

"Be mindful of opportunities to learn more of this... _Revan,_ Saxon," Maul commanded. "I want to know for certain what it is we're dealing with."

"As you wish, my lord," Saxon nodded. "A new batch of ARC Troopers just arrived with him; we will start there."

Maul turned his back once more, returning to his state of thought. "Very well," he said.

Saxon bowed and left, leaving Maul to his thoughts once more.

Revan or not, Maul felt this one would make no small impact on the events to come.

* * *

Anakin, Ahsoka, and Sedyn looked amongst each other, not quite sure what to make of Revan's plan.

"What?" he broke the silence. "Never heard a plan like that before?"

"Plans like _that_ are pretty normal," Ahsoka replied. "Just... not normally from people like _you._ "

"Any problems with it?"

"Well, it relies on Maul doing the same thing _twice,_ " Anakin replied.

"If he doesn't do it again, we learn something and lose nothing," Revan stated. "If he does, we gain information, and very possibly Maul's capture. Either way, it's worth a shot."

"It's... difficult to argue with that assessment," Sedyn Merrick stated, "though I hope you have ideas on what to do _afterward._ "

"Not quite yet," said Revan. "I would like to hear what Almec said first."

Anakin and Ahsoka looked to each other, as if they spoke without using their voices.

"Nothing useful," Ahsoka shook her head. "We couldn't get much before one of Maul's Mandalorians got to him."

"He... _did_ say that Maul has been acting... well, he's been very _afraid_ lately," Anakin added. "It's been consuming him, Almec said."

Ah, _fear._ Fear was a powerful motivator, and a strong point from which to manipulate. Revan would keep that in mind.

He could also plainly tell that Anakin and Ahsoka were hiding something from him, but he chose to confront them in a more outright manner later to avoid public confrontation. Nonetheless, asking them wouldn't harm anyone.

"Anything else?" he asked.

Anakin shook his head.

"And you say the Maul's men got to him?"

"Yes," Ahsoka answered. "Gar Saxon was sent to assassinate him, but, luckily for us, he was too late."

"We can easily use Maul's fear to corner him," Revan stated, "but what is he afraid _of?_ "

"Sidious, I'm guessing," answered Ahsoka. "Now that I think of it, Maul was practically shuddering when he said the name to me."

_Bingo._

Revan now not only knew precisely _how_ to reach Maul, but also had half a dozen ideas on what to do when he got there. _The enemy of my enemy is my friend,_ after all. Kenobi wouldn't like it, but an opportunity like this was simply too good to pass up.

"Very good," Revan nodded. "I will be meditating in my quarters, but feel free to visit if you require anything." And with that, Revan's cape followed the breeze as he briskly made his exit.

Sedyn turned and looked at the remaining pair of Jedi. "You're confident in his abilities, yeah?"

"Oh, very," Anakin replied. "He led the entire defense of Coruscant, you know that?"

Sedyn shrugged. "So I've heard, yes."

"Did you hear he won us an impossible victory?"

Sedyn furled his eyebrows, though his helmet made the gesture invisible. Tilting his head next, he said, "No, I hadn't."

"So, long story short," Anakin stated, "I am _very_ confident in his abilities."

* * *

"I'm not entirely confident that Revan is even on our _side_ after hearing _that,_ " Master Mace Windu found himself saying the Jedi Council chambers.

"To even _suggest_ working with a Sith Lord..." Master Ki-Adi-Mundi added. "What could possibly have possessed him to do so?"

Master Obi-Wan Kenobi simply sighed. "I... must admit," he said, "Revan's reasoning was, at the very least, sound. I think he only forgets to view the... _moral_ implications."

"Implications that _define_ a Jedi, you must remember, Master Kenobi," Master Plo Koon warned. "We must _not_ allow ourselves to become that which we fight against!"

Aside from the matter being discussed, only one other thing was bothering at the current moment.

Anakin wasn't there.

He was a member of the Council, so why had he not been summoned? Obi-Wan somewhat supported Anakin's whole Council-situation, but this?

Obi-Wan couldn't help but feel it was simply _wrong._ Oh, what would have Master Qui-Gon thought of all this?

"In fact, why do we still call him one when he qualifies in no way whatsoever?" Mace Windu questioned. "He doesn't care for the code, for life-"

"He _cares_ , Master Windu," Obi-Wan interrupted. "Just... in a different way. He thinks only in terms of the longer run, for better or for worse."

"And that way of thinking has much merit," Ki-Adi-Mundi stated, "but it _must_ be kept in check. One does not always need to sacrifice lives to save more."

"Revan has kept his word thus far," Obi-Wan insisted. "We cannot jump to conclusions just yet. He even spared the debate out of respect for it."

"Nevertheless," Windu said, "we must be watchful. The more thought I give to the situation, the more suspicious it becomes."

The room was silent for a moment. "What do you mean?" Ki-Adi-Mundi eventually asked.

"Think about it," Windu began. "We know Sidious wants control of the Republic. We know that means Palpatine cannot be Sidious, as he _already_ controls the Republic, but we have now traced Sidious to 500 Republica, proving Sidious is within the close circles of the Republic."

"Pardon me, but I thought we were discussing _Revan?_ " Obi-Wan asked. Then he realized what Windu was getting at. "You think...?"

 _That_ may have been why Anakin was left absent...

"Sidious may know we've discovered him," Windu continued. "The timing is simply too perfect. An ancient Jedi coming back from the dead just as we are on the verge of discovering Sidious? This ancient Jedi clearly having no interest in Jedi ideals, preaches the Dark Side, and is now trying to turn others to his side?"

"Revan is _not_ a Sith Lord, you must sense that!" Obi-Wan exclaimed.

"All I sense is a string of 'coincidences'," Windu replied. "Revan's goals, as he has already told us, involve him gaining more and more power to 'win the war'. Does that not sound off to you?"

Obi-Wan put a hand to his forehead. "But _why? Why Revan?_ "

"Revan is a highly respected Republic hero who was known for questionable practices and good results," Windu answered. "There are few better candidates."

Kenobi put a hand to his face and waited a moment before speaking. "Things like this will drive our Order apart, only making it _easier_ for Sidious to take control." He looked to Windu. "I would need more proof before acting against Revan, for he may be our greatest help in these desperate times."

"Speak wisely, does Master Kenobi," Master Yoda spoke, and everyone turned to listen. "Inconclusive, is this situation, and trust in conspiracies, we must not, or risk dividing the Jedi Order, we do. Trust in the Force, we must, and reveal itself, the truth will."

"Yet at the same time, we cannot blindly follow people like Revan, lest we are led down a far worse path," Windu warned. "This I know for sure: Revan is no Jedi."

Not one person in the room could find themselves disagreeing.

* * *

"Meditating, eh?" said Sedyn Merrick, approaching Elijah Zaykanian from behind. "Because that looks an _awful_ lot like p _ainting._ "

"Well, you see, I'm not actually a Jedi, I'm a professional artist trying to take over the universe," Elijah replied with a gesture as he turned his head to face the Mandalorian.

Sedyn stood in silence for a moment. "Who are you? Really?" he asked plainly.

Zaykanian's next facial expression was furled eyebrows. "That was a little something called 'sarcasm', if you're a bit deaf to that..."

Sedyn remained in silence for another moment. "I understood you perfectly," he said, "but I'm convinced you're hiding something. I would like to know _what._ "

The Jedi Master's face quickly took a far more serious tone as he placed down the chest plate he was painting gold. "Is there a reason I should entrust you with such information?"

Sedyn took a seat on the ground. "Why wouldn't you?"

"I could give you a dozen reasons."

"That doesn't sound very Jedi-like." Sedyn raised an eyebrow. "In fact, _you're_ not very Jedi-like."

"Wow, my most well-kept secret!" Zaykanian yelled sarcastically, gaining the glances of a few passing clones.

Sedyn shook his head and continued. "So what are you, then? A Grey Jedi?"

"I am what I need to be at any given moment," Elijah replied.

"And who are you now?" asked Sedyn, finally feeling as if he was getting somewhere.

"To you, I am Jedi Master Elijah Zaykanian," he replied.

"To me?"

"I am not the same man to all I encounter." The statement was as simple as it was vague.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Elijah chuckled. "Whatever it needs to mean."

Sedyn threw his head back with a sigh before shaking his head and choosing a new, more important question. "And would you care to explain the mask?"

Elijah spent a passing moment in thought before answering. "I acquired it from a fallen Mandalorian many years ago," he answered. "I wear it to remember and uphold her cause, a cause I happen to strongly agree with."

Sedyn's next statement wasn't what Zaykanian expected, as far as he could tell.

"Surely, you've heard of Revan, have you not?" he said. "You know, Revan the Butcher to Mandalore, Darth Revan to the Sith, just Revan to everyone else?"

Elijah tilted his head, then turned to fully face Sedyn. Resting his arms on his crossed legs, he spoke, "Perhaps I have. Why do you ask?"

"Because you happen to look _exactly_ as his accounts describe," Sedyn quickly answered.

"Four thousand-year old accounts, you mean?" Elijah spoke with a slight tone of mockery. "That's not very strong evidence to go off of."

"No, perhaps not," Sedyn replied, "but I doubt this is a coincidence. Would you... care to explain?"

Elijah unveiled his hood and removed his mask, and simply stared. If it had not been for Sedyn's self-control, he would have been shaking. But as well as he was hiding it, his heart began beating faster as his breath shook.

The stare was not one of anger, or annoyance, or amusement, or any given emotion that would have been appropriate for the situation. He just _stared._ And Sedyn felt _uncomfortable._

Though he looked at the face of a middle-aged, battle-hardened man, the look in his eyes was anything but. He could see and feel the honed, focused, and refined power within him, forged by years of battles beyond the young Mandalorian's wildest dreams. Those eyes looked as if they could scare a Sith Lord - nay, a demon.

But his next words didn't match the ferocity in his eyes, and they were what struck Sedyn back into the reality of the man he was looking at and listening to.

"Let me get this straight:" he said calmly. "I wear dark robes, some body armor, and a Mandalorian mask, which therefore makes me a four-thousand-year-old Jedi-turned-Sith-turned-Jedi again who saved, conquered, and unconquered the galaxy in one of the darkest periods in Republic history? And what precisely do you intend to do with this remarkable theory of yours?"

Sedyn could do nothing but gulp and promptly leave. He didn't know who or what Elijah Zaykanian was, but one thing was for certain.

_He was not to be toyed with._

* * *

"You got a signal?" Anakin exclaimed to his faithful droid companion, R2-D2. The little droid whizzed a 'yes'.

"Alright, let me see her," he ordered as he took a seat on a nearby box within the secluded tent.

A hologram beamed out from R2's projector, and from it Anakin saw the face he was looking for. The face of Padme Amidala. The face of his wife. And as she had told him on Coruscant, the face of the mother of his child.

Her hands rested on her stomach, and she smiled as she looked into his eyes. "Ani," she simply said.

"Padme," Anakin smiled back. "I'm... sorry I can't be there right now."

"It's alright," she replied. "You have a duty to the Republic, and I won't take that from you."

"I know, I just..." Anakin sighed, recomposing himself. "I'm just so _tired_ of this war, of being so _apart._ " Anakin reached out his hand, and Padme reached out hers, as if they hoped they could feel each other's warmth across the galaxy. In a way, they even could.

"The war will be over soon, Anakin," Padme comforted. "And then, we can live our lives however we want. No more hiding, no more war. Just our love, and our child."

Anakin wanted to tell her about Revan and his teachings. He almost did. But Revan wanted his secret kept safe, so Anakin would try his best.

"I guess that's all I need," said Anakin, making Padme smile.

And so they talked. They talked about things they would talk about as if they were together. They talked about what they would do with their future child. How Padme wanted to raise them on Naboo, how things would need to begin changing for them.

And all the while, Anakin felt more an more bothered. Hiding something from his _wife._ Shouldn't he be able to tell her about such things? Couldn't she be trusted? He resisted the urge, but oh, was it tempting...

What about the Chancellor? Now it bothered him more. He was hiding it from the _Chancellor._ From _Palpatine._

He would want to know about such things, wouldn't he? Anakin was the eyes and ears of the Republic within the Jedi. Shouldn't he serve that purpose?

But Revan had his own purposes, too. He would not hide without reason, and he assured that he would not hide forever.

But Revan served the Republic. Anakin served the Republic. The _Chancellor_ served the Republic. Why did they need to work _apart?_

Eventually, Anakin and Padme finished talking. They exchanged goodbyes, said they would miss each other, and the hologram disappeared.

Anakin sat in silence for a moment, thinking.

Then he made up his mind.

"R2, get me a signal to the Chancellor's office," he said to his droid.

In a few moments that seemed like hours, Palpatine answered the call.

"Anakin!" he greeted. "It's so good to see you again. What do you need?"

"Chancellor," Anakin greeted back, "I need to tell you something."

Palpatine looked to Anakin, giving him a well-meaning nod. "Whatever you need, Anakin."

"Do you remember when you told me about Revan?" Anakin asked the Chancellor to recollect.

"I believe I do, why do you ask?"

Anakin took a moment before speaking. "You don't yet know the full story."

And Palpatine simply smiled as Anakin told him everything.


	12. Truth and Fruition

"Left flank?"

"Clear."

"Right flank?"

"Clear, sir."

"Move out."

The ARC Troopers moved swiftly and carefully through the sewers, their voices heard only by each other through comm devices as they scoured for any trace of Maul.

"Think this is gonna work, sir?" asked Lieutenant Zillo, Fordo's right-hand man.

"Irrelevant," replied Fordo. "We have orders, and we're going to _follow_ them."

"Understood, sir," Zillo nodded, "but the General's plan just seems... _odd_ , to me. _Unorthodox._ "

"Yeah? And what about him so far has been 'orthodox'?" said Jasper, the squad medic. "I mean, come one, Zillo, he shot _lightning_ from his fingers while making quips about Battle Droids. What'd you expect from him?"

"Oh, cut it out with the lighting!" Seraph exclaimed almost, but not quite, loud enough for sound to actually emanate from his helmet. "Ever since Coruscant, _all_ you've been able to talk about is that Jedi magic of his!"

"This war's been going for _three bloody years,_ " Jasper shot back, "and unlike you, I've served with _plenty_ of Jedi, so I can tell you with a _high_ degree of certainty that I have _never_ seen anything like _that_ before."

"Doesn't mean you have to yap about it so much!" Seraph replied. "I mean, he zapped some droids, _big deal._ "

"You're seriously telling me it doesn't seem even just _odd_ to you?"

"Hey, break it up!" Fordo commanded. " _Stealth_ mission, remember?"

"Sir, yes, sir," was the reply of the four troopers following, and were the first of words of the relatively quiet Strider, the squad's latest addition.

"Sir?" said Jasper.

"What now?" replied Fordo.

"Incoming movement, sir."

The five ARC Troopers raised their weapons instantly, scanning their surroundings as they formed a tight circle.

Jasper pointed his hand in military fashion to the tunnel on their left, where he was receiving movement.

Using hand signals, Fordo instructed his troopers to take cover behind the arched doorway into the circular tunnel.

"Judging by their movement, sir, looks like they know we know they're here," said Jasper, readying his rifle.

"Then let's give em' what they came for," Fordo replied. "Blasters up, we're moving in."

Strider grabbed Fordo by the shoulder for a moment, simply nodding when he turned to look. Fordo nodded in return.

"Let's give these Mandos hell, boys!" said Zillo as yellow blaster fire emerged with their senders in the tunnel. He led with a grenade, and the fight was on.

* * *

Oh, _Anakin._

Sidious couldn't help but laugh to himself. It seemed all those years of manipulation was paying off, and he now had a gateway into the necessary information he had previously lacked.

Revan had truly returned, and he wasted no time in getting to work. He trusted hypocritical philosophies, and had no qualms about immoral actions if he believed them to be tactically worth it.

Sidious had difficulty someone like the legendary Darth Revan himself could believe such an oxymoron of a philosophy as wielding both the Light _and_ Dark Sides of the Force, but that wasn't important. What _was_ important was the part he could use: his moral code - or, more accurately, his lack thereof.

Put Revan in the right situations, and the general public will grow to view him as a villain rather than a savior, and whatever his plan was would be for naught.

What Sidious _didn't_ know was what _Revan_ would do. Regardless of his newfound philosophy, Revan had proven himself to be _quite_ the intellect, and he will continue to do so.

Unfortunately, Sidious' knowledge was not all-encompassing, so he would have to act now and learn from Revan's reactions. Nevertheless, he at least knew now _how_ to act.

His next instructions to General Grievous were clear:

"As you intensify your attacks, begin forcing the Jedi into more and more... _moral dilemmas._ Our goal is to cause them to either waste resources or to lose the approval of the general populace."

"As you wish, my lord," replied the general. "But, if I may...?"

Sidious simply tilted his head and awaited the cyborg's words.

"What do you intend to do about the death of Count Dooku?"

Ah, yes. _Dooku_. His death was meant to lure Skywalker closer to him, but it seems Revan halted that plan. Part of him was even considering tracking down Maul...

"His death was most unfortunate," Sidious stated, "but it is not detrimental to our plans. Follow my commands, and we shall emerge victorious."

"Thy will be done, Lord Sidious." Sidious ended the transmission, leaving himself to his own thoughts.

Perhaps the Force truly did have a will, and one set against his own, at that. It also seemed to be a very _determined_ will.

But his was just as so. He was not Dark Lord of the Sith for nothing, after all.

Once more, the Sith will rule the galaxy.

_He_ will rule the galaxy.

* * *

Fordo and his men had now been backed into a crossroad of four tunnels. In each tunnel, was at least half a dozen hostiles firing at them.

Then again, there was a dozen each about four minutes ago, so they were far from hopeless.

"Sir, fun as this is, we _cannot_ stay here!" Seraph shouted to his captain.

"I agree, sir, more are coming!" Zillo chimed in.

"Find us an escape route!" Fordo ordered, firing his automatic rifle down the tunnel facing west. He was beginning to lose count of the amount of shots he and his men had taken.

"Sir, I recommend going north!" Zillo said after half a minute more shooting.

After a signal from Fordo, Seraph tossed a flash grenade down the north tunnel, buying them time enough to charge in without getting mauled by Mandalorians.

Charging through, the ARC Troopers quickly eliminated the five hostiles in their path before moving forward, firing blind shots behind them to keep others from following long enough to create sufficient distance.

Zillo signaled for Jasper to drop a smoke grenade, then led the squad several meters left to stop a moment.

"Sir," he began, "I recommend a tactical retreat."

"I second that!" Jasper raised a finger. "We just used, what, five grenades to keep them off our sorry asses?"

"Six," Fordo corrected, checking the ammunition in his sidearm.

"Now I agree more!"

"Recommendation taken," Fordo said. "Zillo, find us a path out of here."

"Copy that, sir."

"Sir, bogies!" Seraph pointed to their south. Approaching were eight Mandalorians and someone else, who was walking slowly behind their charge. It didn't take much for Fordo to guess who it was.

"I think _not that way_ would be a good start, sir," Zillo said, already backing up the opposite direction.

"Move, _move!"_ Fordo commanded. Before he even began, he and his men broke into a sprint.

Strider tossed a grenade, hoping to slow them. All it did was slow him long enough to get caught in Darth Maul's invisible grip.

After a dozen seconds of running, Jasper looked behind, and nearly stopped in his tracks. "Strider!" he called out in distress.

"Leave him, keep going!" Fordo sternly commanded.

"But sir-"

" _Trust me,_ " said Fordo, grabbing the squadmate by the arm. Reluctantly, he complied.

And Strider soon found his throat in the grasp of a Zabrak Sith Lord.

Improvising, he pressed a button on his wrist, creating a burst of light from his helmet's add-on flashlight that blinded Maul long enough to escape his grasp.

Strider began to run, firing blind shots behind him. When he saw Mandalorians ahead of him, he turned to his right and into another intersection...

Where he was tackled by a Mandalorian waiting for him. Another joined in, and Strider soon found himself pinned to the ground and on his knees as a third Mandalorian got a grip on him.

From behind him came Maul, slowly, laughing mockingly.

"So remarkably _predictable,_ " the Sith Lord said as he came to a halt in front of the ARC Trooper. He signaled for one of the Mandalorians to remove Strider's black-and-red helmet.

But, to Maul's visible surprise, the face beneath was not a clone.

He had long, black hair, a beard, a thin face, and the most satisfied, mischievous _smirk._

But Maul's gaze could not leave his _eyes_. But before he could even discern what he could see in them, he and every Mandalorian in the room felt their windpipes collapse as the imposter ARC Trooper's grin disappeared.

He slowly got up as everyone was raised into the air, and the only thing Maul could see in those eyes was a raging _fire._

Every Mandalorian began falling to the ground as their necks snapped, one-by-one, until he and the fiery-eyed imposter were the only living things in the room.

And without warning, Maul's vision went black as he was slammed into the wall behind him.

* * *

Ahsoka found Anakin where she should have looked first: at his starfighter, tinkering as always.

Even just the fact that he had hobbies distinguished him from his peers. It was _allowed_ , sure, but it was generally viewed as an attachment, or even just a waste of time. Anakin, of course, didn't care.

"Any word from Master Revan yet?" Ahsoka asked after Anakin noticed her and took off his welding goggles to wave.

"Not yet," Anakin answered, "but he did say he was gonna be a while." Anakin furled his eyebrows and glanced. "Why do you ask?"

Ahsoka took a deep breath. "Because he... _dropped_ something." She reached her hand into a pocket, and pulled out a single picture. Not a holopic or anything of the sort, just a picture, on a piece of paper, taken by some now-ancient device Revan likely found commonplace in his time.

Anakin left his starfighter and came to observe the picture. He took it in hand, and simply looked in surprise. "He... _dropped_ this?"

Ahsoka nodded her head as Anakin muttered a _wow._ The picture was, as far as Ahsoka could tell, of a smiling couple, a man and a woman, the woman piggybacking over his shoulders as they wore bright and genuine smiles. It had taken Ahsoka some time earlier to realize that that man was, of all people, _Revan._

The woman, however, she didn't recognize. She wore her brunette hair in a ponytail, a young brightness in her eyes, and such love. The second most surprising part of all this was the lightsaber on the belt of her clothes.

Anakin had told her that Revan strongly believed in love, but she had never thought to realize that he felt to it to such a degree as _that._

She found some surprise in herself once more when she looked to Anakin, who had a newfound look of sympathy towards the one whom Ahsoka couldn't help but remember was _the former Dark lord of the Sith._

"Who is she?" Ahsoka asked after a moment.

Anakin shook his head in a slight sense of disbelief. "His... _wife._ "

He seemed just as surprised by his own answer as Ahsoka was. Who would have known?

The pair took a seat on some nearby crates, never taking their eyes off the picture.

"How do you know?" asked Ahsoka.

"I remember Obi-Wan told me when he was drilling into my head how much he despised the Jedi Code," Anakin answered with a slight chuckle. "I never thought much about it, even when Revan mentioned it the other day!"

Ahsoka's smile slowly faded. "This... this is all he has left," she said melancholily. "Everything, everyone he ever know is just _gone._ "

"He's never even mentioned it," Anakin then realized.

"Because he's _hiding_ it," Ahsoka replied, sighing. "Who can really blame him?"

For Revan to have been happily married was something Ahsoka _definitely_ didn't see coming. He acted so stoic, so emotionless - save for his sarcasm - that she expected some lone-wolf attitude. Instead, she was met with a married man.

"I don't think he'd enjoy that conversation much," said Anakin after a moment.

"Well, if we want to help him, it's kind of necessary, don't you think?"

Anakin shook his head. "Where would we even start? We don't know anything but that picture!"

Ahsoka shrugged. "Well, we could start by giving it back, then work from there," she replied with a smirk.

Anakin laughed and shook his head. "Oh, I have a bad feeling about this..."

* * *

Maul awoke slowly, his eyes drifting in and out of consciousness until he forced himself awake. He looked wide-eyed around the room, but all he saw was dead Mandalorians, laying on the ground.

" _Darth Maul,_ " came a voice, but Maul could not discern from where. " _Well, I suppose the title of Darth has long since been relinquished._ "

"Who are you?" Maul demanded. He received only a laugh in response. "Who are you!?" he cried out again.

" _Savior, conqueror, hero, villain,"_ the voice replied. " _I can be whatever you would like, for I am all, yet none."_

"If you think I am afraid, _you are sorely mistaken,_ " Maul said with a writhing venom.

The voice laughed again. " _Oh, Maul,_ " it said. " _Your every action until now has been motivated completely by fear, and so shall it be for a long time from now. You are_ very _afraid._ "

Maul gritted his teeth, pacing the room, stopping when he felt someone behind him.

"Just not of me."

The voice was clear now. Maul turned around to see who spoke.

The armor was the same, but the man was not. Instead of a clone helmet, on his head was a mask and a hood, and instead of a backpack, a black cape.

He no longer carried himself as a young soldier. He simply stood as _pure power._

"What do you want from me?" said Maul, his voice shaky from shock.

The masked figure walked past Maul as he spoke. "I sense we carry a common enemy, Maul, and I believe his name is _Darth Sidious._ "

"Perhaps," Maul replied, slowly regaining his composure. "You are no Jedi."

"I am, and I am not; either way, it concerns you not," the figure replied. "We do share an enemy, and I believe we can..." The figure paused to look at Maul. " _...help each other._ "

"Then you are _surely_ no Jedi," Maul said, his shakiness of voice having left him.

"As I said, it does not concern you," the masked man said. "What _does_ concern you is the war that is about to begin."

"You believe you can _defeat_ Sidious?" Maul said, almost laughing. "Don't you see? The game has been rigged, and he has already won!"

"I can _see_ that he has rigged the game," the figure replied. "I also know how he rigged it, and how he is pretending to play fair, which gives me sufficient knowledge to counter him with my _own_ rigging."

"You are a _fool_ to believe you can defeat Sidious at his own game!" Maul exclaimed mockingly.

Within that instant, a bolt of lighting shot from the figures fingertips and directly struck Maul, making him roar in pain as he was thrown back.

As he was left smoking and rolling on the ground, the figure released more lighting upon him, searing his flesh and overloading his nerves further as he cried out in pain.

He left Maul to coil and writhe on the ground, groaning, before he continued.

"I am _far_ from a fool," said he, "and I care little for what you may think of me." The man walked closer to Maul, lifting him from the ground with an invisible hand before tossing him into a wall.

"I know exactly how to defeat Sidious, and you are going to help me," he stated. "You are going to tell me everything you know about Sidious and his plan. Then, you are going to have all crime syndicates under your command begin severing ties with any and all members of the Galactic Senate by means of assassination, and you will spare only the ones with enough ties to get me reliable information on Sidious and his activities."

"And what makes you think they would follow such a command!?" Maul cried out as he shakily tried to get up.

"You will inform them that the sacrifice they make now will help stop events that will leave them entirely powerless in the near future," the... _S_ _ith_ replied. "If they continue to refuse, inform them that they will receive a visit from someone far _worse_ than yourself if they fail to follow my instructions to the best of their ability."

Groaning with pain, Maul raised himself to his knees, then to leaning on a wall as this... _power_ continued.

"You will also prepare yourself to be captured by Republic forces; don't worry, I will do everything in my power and beyond to ensure that Sidious does not find you, and you will still be able to hold your power over the criminal underworld. Am I understood?"

Instead of responding with words, Maul responded with the pure rage of the charge of an ignited lightsaber.

But Maul's crimson blade was swiftly met by this man's blade of amethyst. He stood his ground, seeming to exert no effort as Maul cried out, unleashing his power into the strike.

But with a simple twist, the man twirled the saber out of Maul's hands and on to the ground, and he found the blade at his throat. He expected death, but received mercy.

"You are still of use to me," the man said, "but do not test my patience again, lest a far worse fate befall you."

The figure deactivated the saber, and turned to walk away.

"What of Skywalker?" Maul said weakly, but with a fresh resolve.

The man stopped and turned his head. "He is being sufficiently dealt with," he said simply.

"But _surely_ you know what Sidious has planned for him?" Maul spoke confidently.

"I am fully aware," the man replied. "As I said, I am dealing with it."

As he continued to leave, Maul spoke again.

"I certainly hope you are _confident_ in your abilities," he said almost mockingly, "for he has been groomed for his role since Sidious laid _eyes_ upon him!"

This caused him to stop in his tracks.

"For how long?"

Maul grinned. "Ask him yourself," he replied.

The man thought for a moment. "He will be dealt with by my hand, and my hand alone. Do your part, and you will find our relationship will go smoothly and we will both emerge in profit."

"And by what name shall you be called?"

Maul could feel the smirk beneath the man's dark mask. "I think... you already _know_ my name."

He left Maul humbled and on the ground, surrounded by the bodies of men he called his servants as he fully realized who he was.

_Revan had truly returned._


	13. Revan and His Pupils

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this took a long time! The final scene of this chapter was a hell of a roadblock for me, but I can say with confidence that future chapters will be coming out a lot quicker. Nevertheless, I think this chapter turned out pretty well. But you've waited enough; on with the chapter!

Yellow blaster bolts didn't cease to fly past the four remaining ARC Troopers as they rushed down the arched hallways of the Undercity. Fordo almost lost a finger just a minute ago, and everyone's armor now had several more scorches. They needed to get out.

Zillo signaled the squad right upon a fork in the tunnel. After a signal, Seraph dropped his last smoke grenade before the fork, and the squad sprinted for another minute before Zillo stopped to get a better look at his radar.

"More contacts moving in on our position, sir," Zillo called out to Fordo after a moment.

"Hostile or friendly?" asked Fordo tiredly.

"Too much interference, can't tell," Zillo replied to Fordo's frustration. "It's only a result of damn-good equipment that they work at _all._ "

"Probably safer to take a chance, sir," said Jasper.

Fordo placed a head to his forehead in a frustrated search for thought. "How many?" he eventually asked, motioning to squad to move up.

Zillo observed the radar again. "Five, sir. If we're lucky, it's the rest of the squad plus a Jedi."

"And if we're not, we can take five Mandos," Jasper piped in.

"We're almost out of grenades, I'd rather not," said Seraph.

Fordo shook his head. "Keep moving, we'll hope for the best."

A yellow baster bolt impacted the wall next to Seraph's head, and soon more followed as the ARC Troopers took cover, returning fire before Fordo ordered a retreat.

"Wait, stop, sir!" said Zillo. "Contacts are here."

The blaster fire stopped whizzing by them and began going the opposite direction. They heard the blade of a lightsaber ignite as the hall emanated yellow, they saw and heard blue blaster fire as the lightsaber made three strikes, and then there was silence.

Around the corner walked Sedyn Merrick, yellow lightsaber still in hand, as there came running behind four familiar ARC Troopers. Fargo, Jakkana, Drekkza, and Dingo.

This squad of ARC Troopers, Muunilinst 10, had gained and lost members throughout the Clone War - most notably at Hypori, where General Grievous nearly cut the squad in half. Since then, more members have come and gone for a variety of reasons, and when Strider joined, the squad was up to the maximum number of nine members for the first time since the beginning of the war. It was a shame he was taken so quickly.

Captain Fordo, however, knew otherwise.

"Captain," Drekkza nodded, taking a glace at the squad members. "Strider?"

"Fell behind," Fordo answered in that professional graveness.

Drekkza looked to the ground and shook his head, then looked back up. "Yes, sir," he nodded in the same tone.

"I don't suppose you made any progress?" Sedyn asked after he got up from honoring his fallen brothers.

"Strider died to Maul, if that counts," said Seraph, throwing a stone into the water out of anger.

Seraph had been with the squad the longest besides Fordo, and he had seen too many of his brothers die. Fordo could handle it easily; he was a peak ARC Trooper, ruthless in combat and nigh-emotionless. Seraph wasn't so. Brotherhood was important to him, moreso than really anyone else in the squad. An oddity for an ARC Trooper, in truth.

Fargo sighed out of frustration. "So all this _for nothing?"_

"No, not quite," said another clone's voice from outside the group.

Everyone turned their heads and looked, only to see Strider striding towards them.

Most clones would have started cheering for their returning brother. But ARC Troopers were smarter than that. They knew the probabilities of a supposedly dead or captured ally returning cheerfully. And so they drew blasters.

With a motion of Strider's hand, the blasters leapt form the Trooper's hands, levitating just out of their reach.

"Now, _that's_ not nice," he said, placing his hands on his helmet to remove it.

And underneath it was the face of General Zaykanian, a wide smile on his face as if to cheerfully surprise them. And surprise them he did. Well, except for Fordo and Merrick, that is.

"General!?" Zillo shouted.

Zaykanian reached into his backpack and put on his regular mask, and responded to them in his regular voice, "Indeed."

"Then where the hell is Strider?" asked Seraph, less than thrilled and throwing his arms back.

"He's fine," Zaykanian replied, laughing. "He's still on the cruiser, awaiting deployment."

"Looking good, sir!" Jasper laughed and snapped his fingers.

The General was now wearing a full suit of clone armor, matching the colors of his last set, along with both a kama and a pauldron, plus his cape, hood, and mask. In summary, an ARC Trooper Jedi.

"Thanks, but I'm still thinking about the pauldron," Zaykanian replied, now walking towards them.

"Pardon my interruption," said Sedyn Merrick dryly, leaning against the wall, "but where's Maul?"

Zaykanian patted Merrick on the head casually, though his height made it slightly awkward. "We'll talk about it on the surface."

* * *

Revan, Sedyn, and the near-full squad of ARC Troopers at last emerged from the hole in the street leading to the Sundari undercity. Before them was Anakin, Ahsoka, Commander Rex, and Bo-Katan waiting with a few other clones and Mandalorians.

Bo-Katan wasted no time. "Where's Maul?" she demanded.

"He's a slippery little bastard, unfortunately," Revan replied.

Bo-Katan crossed her arms. "So that was all for nothing?"

"Not at all," Revan replied. "I managed to make it perfectly clear to Maul that he would rather be in Republic custody than be my enemy. I suspect he will soon either surrender or make a desperate attempt to escape."

"We can't afford to waste time, Zaykanian," said Bo-Katan aggressively. "The plan was for you to _capture_ him, not waste time scaring him!"

"If I were to capture him immediately," Revan replied calmly, "his men would have scattered, and we would have had a harder time cleaning them out. By scaring him, I assured him that he wants to get the hell out of here as quickly as possible, thus granting an opportunity to end this cleanly as he and his assets will be out in the open."

Bo-Katan stared in silence for a moment. "Very well," she said, "but if this doesn't work-"

"It will," Revan replied quickly.

Bo-Katan motioned her head, and Sedyn Merrick and the rest Mandalorians with her followed as she left, and the clones soon left, as well, leaving just Revan, Anakin, and Ahsoka.

Revan clasped his hands behind his back as the three started walking away themselves.

They were silent for a moment before he said just what he and Ahsoka were thinking. "You did _exactly_ what Obi-Wan said not to, didn't you?"

"You're damn right I did," Revan replied. "The unfortunate truth of war is that the morally good thing to do will not always guarantee the best result. Learn this lesson well, and you will find the tide turning soon enough."

"And that doesn't seem low to you at all?" asked Ahsoka, not entirely agreeing.

"Of course it's low, Ahsoka," Revan replied. "The trick is in knowing when it's worth it in the end. Think in terms of the long run, and you will succeed."

"Yet you could _also_ focus so much on the long run you forget the terrible things you're doing now."

Revan was slightly caught off guard by Ahsoka's reply, and needed a moment of thought before returning his own.

"Consider this, Ahsoka. You are the ruler of a city, waging war on another city, and they deploy a massive attack force to attack a poorly-defended territory full of innocent lives, perhaps a large cluster of villages and such. What do you do?"

Ahsoka was slightly surprised by the question, if not only for the perceived obviousness of the answer.

"Assuming I have enough, I deploy soldiers to defend the villages, of course," she answered.

"A reasonable answer, and one most would pick," Revan replied. "Yet consider this: the enemy has deployed a large part of their attack force, leaving behind minimal defenses for _their_ city. Whereas you deploy soldiers to defend the city, I throw everything I have at their now-exposed capital."

"And leave all those innocents to die?" Ahsoka reeked of disapproval.

"Yes," Revan replied. "Yet in doing so, I quickly end the entire war, likely preventing even _more_ death, pain, and destruction in the future, whereas you win a battle and save lives in the present of a war that will only continue. In summary, you would win a battle, I would win a war."

They continued walking again, silently. Ahsoka wanted to say something else, but Revan decided it would have to wait. He had other ideas for the time being.

"So, Revan-" Ahsoka tried to begin, but Revan cut her off with the unexpected.

"Anakin!" he called as he struck with an ignited emerald lightsaber. The Chosen One swiftly activated his own blade and blocked, and both Anakin and Ahsoka were clearly surprised.

The two exchanged a few more blows before Revan temporarily retreated, both still in combat stances.

"Very good, Anakin!" Revan complimented.

"We couldn't have, like, _scheduled_ this?" Anakin replied.

"Where's the fun in that?" Revan replied as he struck once more, a crowd now drawing near.

They exchanged a few more quick clashes, Revan analyzing Anakin's movements. The young Knight was aggressive in his attacks, continuously attempting to push Revan on the defensive with smooth and powerful strikes. Thus, Revan chose the form he would use for this fight in particular.

"Djem So, I see?" said Revan, exiting the flurry of clashes with a spin of both himself and his lightsaber.

"Gets the job done," Anakin replied, his focus on the fight, ready for the attack he made a few moments later.

Revan utilized Soresu, a defensive form and one of the three he placed his focus on, and in doing so, he held Anakin at bay.

Skywalker was a far more skilled duelist than Revan anticipated, but he was also keen on drawing the duel out so as to teach and learn from him. And so, he held back.

The two crossed into a momentary saber lock, then quickly separated.

"Pour yourself into it, Anakin," Revan counseled. "Whatever you're feeling, love, joy, hate, anger alike. As long as you don't serve it, you can make it serve you!"

After a deep breath, Anakin responded with a flurry of quick and powerful attacks, his intention to break Revan's guard. And he very nearly did.

Revan's use of Soresu, however, kept him in-tact, and long enough to consider a route for evening the odds.

Revan forced Anakin into a spin that he quickly recovered from, but gave Revan enough time to retreat and swap forms. It wasn't uncommon for him to use Soresu until he understood how his target fought. It was at this point that he switched to either Ataru or Juyo, his primary forms, though it wasn't uncommon to choose a different one altogether, for Revan prided himself on having mastered all seven.

And today, he decided to go easy on the young Jedi and use Ataru, the acrobatic form.

He found Anakin's surprise at his sudden ad frequent use of of flips, dashes, and spins in a new series of attacks to be most amusing. His speed of attacks nearly doubled, but the Chosen One managed to keep up regardless.

"How many-" Anakin said, interrupted by Revan's flurry of a single lightsaber blade. "How many forms are you even _using?_ "

Revan forced Anakin into a saber lock to answer.

"Yes!" he answered both vaguely and clearly before leaving the lock, spinning out of the way before resuming his unending strikes.

* * *

The two Mandalorians stood in silence for a moment.

Bo-Katan was staring at a holotable, clearly with something else on her mind.

Sedyn Merrick was awaiting her words, his focus singular and clear. It was a moment more before Do-Katan spoke.

"I'm told you spoke to Zaykanian."

Sedyn nodded once. "I did."

"And what did you talk about?"

The bounty hunter shook his head, still perplexed by the encounter. "I... tried to gain some insight on who he really was. I left with more questions than I had before." Then he focused himself with the one answer he had gotten: "All I know is that there is _far_ more to him than we know."

Bo-Katan nodded, holding back her words for a moment as she took a deep breath. "I have a feeling the Jedi know more about him than we do."

"Is that all too surprising?" Sedyn crossed his arms. "I only wonder if they know everything or not, but the fact that they know more is unquestionable."

Bo-Katan left the table, stood tall, and crossed her arms. "I'd like to start changing that."

Sedyn smirked, unsurprised.

"I'm not the only one who noticed his similarities in appearance with Revan, and I doubt you haven't noticed, either," she continued. "He walks in after a long 'trip in the Outer Rim' and instantly begins winning battles and getting friends in high places, _a_ _nd_ he's here to add one more to what I suspect is going to grow to very long list of achievements."

"So you think he's too good to be true?" Merrick said with a furled eyebrow beneath his helmet.

"Maybe, maybe not," Bo-Katan replied, evidently with as few answers as Sedyn had. "All I'm saying is that this is, without a doubt, very much worth investigating, whether or not he's genuinely on our side."

Sedyn now knew why he was summoned here. "So you want _me_ to investigate?"

"Follow him around," she replied. "Befriend him, ask him questions, earn his trust, get us all the answers you can."

"Not a very... _Mandalorian_ thing to do, I must admit," Sedyn replied, chin in hand, "but I suppose following him around will lead to one or two adventures. I might even have one of my own for him."

"Either way, we need to know," Bo-Katan said, walking closer to him. "Think you can handle it?"

Sedyn gave a deep breath, thinking for a moment. "I'm not entirely sure, in honesty, due to Zaykanians rather _mysterious_ nature," he admitted, "but it's certainly worth a shot."

Bo-Katan nodded. "I thought as much." She went to leave before Sedyn interrupted with a question of his own.

"These rumors of him being... _Revan,_ " he forced out, still unable to believe it.

"That's impossible, Merrick, we both know that," she answered the question he didn't need to speak. "Revan the Butcher died thousands of years ago, and if he _did_ come back, it certainly wouldn't be to help Mandalore."

"Well, of course it's impossible," said Sedyn, releasing his folded arms. "I just... can't help but feel otherwise."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we both know that I'm Force-sensitive." He leaned against the wall. "That means I can see things others can't, and when I look at Zaykanian... I can't describe it, really. All I know for certain is that he is _not_ and ordinary Jedi in _any_ sense."

Bo-Katan stared at him, not sure what to make of his words. "What are you saying?" she asked.

"I don't know what I'm saying, I'm only trying to describe something indescribable," he replied, trying to make sense of his own words. "I suppose the only sense we can derive from this situation is that we need to be open to _all_ possibilities."

"Even the _im_ possibilites?"

Sedyn smirked. "I'm no Jedi or philosopher, but I can tell you that this tool of mine called the Force acts... _oddly_ , sometimes."

Bo-Katan silently nodded. "Then you can keep on eye on that, too, then."

Sedyn extended a hand, and Bo-Katan shook it firmly.

"For Mandalore," she said.

"And for her glory," he completed.

* * *

Dozens of clones and Mandalorians were standing in a circle around them, cheering as they would during a sport. In truth, Revan would be doing the same.

Unexpectedly, in the middle of his attack, Anakin let out a powerful push from his hand, creating a nigh-visible shockwave and sending Revan back several feet. He was knocked off his feet, but he controlled it in the form of a flip, and he landed smoothly.

Immediately, Revan began a new attack, but Anakin was prepared.

He blocked the first strike so hard Revan could not move into his next smooth enough, and with Anakin's blade pushing against his own, he felt a metal grip on his wrist, preventing further movement of his saber.

Revan had always heard of the raw power people could see when staring into his eyes, but he never knew truly what that was like until he found himself seeing, in that moment, the same thing in Anakin's eyes.

The raw power and strength in those eyes was wild, untamed, begging to be let out, but caged in by Jedi philosophies beginning to weaken.

It was in that moment that Revan realized, truly, that Anakin Skywalker was the most important man in the galaxy right now.

It was in that moment that Revan realized another purpose, and that purpose was to guide this lost soul and the power it had within so that it might benefit the galaxy and not destroy it.

And it was in that moment that Revan lost focus just long enough for Anakin to twirl Revan's blade out of his hand, and he soon found himself with a blue blade at his throat.

The crowd erupted into cheering, either from shock or celebration, and Anakin found himself laughing, as well, before de-activating the blade and returning Revan's to him.

Revan found himself in too much shock to say anything other than, "Not bad," with a chuckle.

"You're right, it _was_ more fun that way," Anakin smirked. "Maybe I'll try it on _you_ next time."

"Yeah, and I'll give it my _all_ next time, high-and-mighty-walker!" Revan teased back.

"Oh, cut it out, you two!" Ahsoka laughed, approaching the two as the crowd dispersed.

Anakin folded his arms. "I'm just surprised he lost!" he said with a gesture.

"If I was actually _trying_ , Anakin, I would have won in eight seconds," Revan replied, finger raised. " _Trust me._ "

Ahsoka tilted her head, looking for an honest answer.

"Okay, fine," Revan conceded. " _Twelve_ seconds, tops." He shook his head, let out a final laugh, then removed his mask and spoke again in a more serious tone. "I'm going to do some meditating in my tent. Please don't disturb me unless it's important."

"We had something else to discuss first, actually," Ahsoka rushed out of her mouth, as if she was afraid to say it, and Anakin seemed to wear a similar expression.

Revan turned back around to face them, a curious expression on his face. "And what would that be?" he asked, calmly crossing his arms with a wave of his hand.

Ahsoka took something our of her pocket as she and Anakin looked at each other. Anakin seemed to have an easier time masking his own nervousness than Ahsoka.

Se reached out her hand for Revan to take it. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a picture.

A picture.

Revan would have thought pictures on paper would have gone extinct by now, though he supposed there was certain charm to them, the same that kept written books from being totally replaced by many of the electronic means that have arisen and such.

But that wasn't it. The picture was worn, and it had a certain familiarity to it. Wait a minute...

His hand hidden under his cape, he checked his pockets.

It wasn't there.

His aura of curiosity quickly faded, his breathing grew shaky, and he ever so slowly opened the folded paper in his hands. And it was exactly as he realized.

It was of him and Bastila. His very last remnant of a time and place he would never return to. All he had left of his life, his world, his love.

Revan swallowed his spit in silence before looking upward toward the two souls who gave it back to him. He took a deep, yet quiet, breath to recompose himself.

"Who was she?" Ahsoka asked.

 _Oh, of course,_ he thought. It was a well-meaning question, he was sure, but one he had no interest in discussing.

He shook his head with a breath before he put his mask back on. "Thank you for returning this to me," he quickly and plainly said before turning to leave.

He took only a few steps before Ahsoka took a few steps of her own before speaking. "You didn't answer my question."

Revan stopped dead in his tracks.

"You can trust us," Ahsoka sympathetically added.

 _It's not about that,_ he muttered, barely loud enough for them to hear, before turning back around to stare in silence for moment.

"She's not someone I'm willing to discuss right now," he replied with a hidden sadness in his voice. "Don't burden yourselves with my past."

And with that, he left.


	14. Fear and Regret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that took longer than I had hoped. I assumed the last one took so long because of writer's block or something, but it was less than a week ago that I realized my writing system wasn't working for me. So I adjusted it, and now here I am, with a new chapter. I think this will result in the next chapter coming out quicker, too, but I'd rather not make another promise :P
> 
> Also, I'd like to alert everyone that I will no longer be responding to comments within the chapters anymore (with the exception of guest comments) and that I will now be responding through DMs instead.
> 
> With all that in mind, please enjoy :)

Anakin broke sleep in a cold sweat and a heavy breath. It was another nightmare. More _death_ in his head.

It was the same as all the other ones. Padme was crying out for help, tears and fear on her face as she gave birth to a child he could not see. On some nights, he could see Obi-Wan easing her into the next world. He still didn't know why it wasn't _him_ with his wife. Sometimes he worried it was because he was the _cause._

He had told no one other than whom the nightmares were focused on. He had not even told Obi-Wan or the Chancellor. Or Revan.

Anakin shook his head. It wasn't time to tell him yet. There was no reason to, not to mention he didn't trust the old Jedi nearly enough yet.

Anakin winced as he checked the time on a nearby chronometer. It was about an hour before he planned to wake up, though he imagined the clones were already up. He knew he wasn't going to get back to sleep any time soon, so he got up from the bed, put on his robe, and left the large tent, hoping that maybe conversation would steer away images of the death of his wife.

The air outside the tent was just cool enough to have a pleasant freshness, and as Anakin expected, clone troops were running their drills and morning exercises. Amusingly, Revan was out with them, jogging, squatting, and whatever else with them. It was no wonder they got along with him so well.

He told Padme about the dreams before he left for Mandalore, but he hasn't brought it up to her since, not even her call with her before. There were just too many other things going on, too many other things to worry about.

Revan probably knew more about these things. He seemed so calm and relaxed, allowing his emotions to intervene only when useful. He seemed to always be in control, to have a solution to every problem, to be able to do what he needed.

Well, daydreaming about it wouldn't do Anakin any good, so he decided to speak with Revan about it later - no specifics, of course, but just enough. For now, he was hungry. Perhaps he would find conversation at what constituted as a cafeteria in the camp.

And find conversation he did, for Ahsoka seemed to be getting herself situated at a table. Following a wave, he walked over to join her in fresh conversation.

Ahsoka generally liked to wake up later, so he wasn't quite sure why she was up even earlier than he was - unless, of course, she had her own hidden nightmares.

Come to think of it, it may have been a result of the Force Bond shared between Master and Apprentice. Anakin couldn't help but smile. It filled him with joy to know their bond was still there after all this time, if he was correct. An answer would be nice, though.

"Hey, Snips," Anakin said as he joined her at the table. "You're up early."

"I was having trouble sleeping," Ahsoka replied, "and then Revan ran into my tent pole on accident. Spent ten minutes putting the thing back up before I decided to go eat."

Anakin chuckled. "He never ceases to surprise, doesn't he?"

"Well, I hope he surprises everyone else soon with his real identity," Ahsoka replied. "The Mandalorians are getting suspicious."

"What makes you say that?"

Ahsoka gestured her head upwards. Anakin looked behind him to the giant mural on one of the many buildings of Mandalore. Revan was in the dead center, the style painting him separate from the Jedi, depicting them as small and weak, but Revan as strong and larger than life, just like the Mandalorians beside him.

"Oh," Anakin simply remarked.

"The Mandos are whispering, too," Ahsoka continued. "Some are dismissing them as superstitious, but a lot of them think Revan is actually back."

"Think that'll encourage him to reveal himself here?" Anakin suggested.

"Does he even _know?"_ Ahsoka returned. "He certainly hasn't _said_ anything about it, and I doubt the troops would want to say anything around him."

Anakin sighed. "You make a good point. We should probably tell him."

"But why even keep it secret?" Ahsoka went on. "Doesn't he want to build up trust?"

"All I know is that he thinks if Sidious finds out he's back, his plans are gonna be stunted. _A lot._ "

"And what are his plans?" Ahsoka continued inquisitively, clearly trying to get somewhere.

"I don't know!" Anakin shot back. "I don't think he tells the _Council_ anything, let alone me!"

"He told us he was playing dirty with Maul, didn't he?" she persisted. "Also, if that's how he usually works, is he even that _trustworthy?"_

Anakin was now surprised by his old apprentice. "Ahsoka," he said calmly, "you heard his reasoning."

"Which is sound reasoning, don't get me wrong," Ahsoka said, "but if he's willing to do _that,_ what _else_ is he willing to do?" Ahsoka leaned forward. "He was a Sith Lord once, wasn't he?"

"What are you getting at?"

"I'm trying to say that I doubt his habits have entirely changed," Ahsoka replied. "He still manages to use the Dark Side, he's striking deals with Sith Lords, and keeping just about everything a secret. Doesn't that sound off to you?"

"Of course it does," Anakin answered, "but we also don't have the full picture, and Revan probably has his reasons. He's trusting you and me more than everyone else, can't we trust him?"

"That's exactly what I'm asking: can we?"

Anakin thought in silence for a moment.

"We'll just have to find out," he said. "Me and you."

* * *

"You want us to do _what?"_ said Dryden Vos, the 'leader' of the Crimson Dawn.

"Our contacts in the Senate are the majority of the reason we have so much power to begin with!" cried out Ziton Moj, the 'leader' of the Black Sun.

Marg Krim, the 'leader' of the Pyke Syndicate, remained silent.

"Need I _remind_ you of what happened to your _predecessors_ , Ziton?" replied Maul, the true leader of all three organizations. The leader of the Shadow Collective.

"My lord, do _forgive me_ if we are a little _concerned_ by your new command," said Vos, his ask for forgiveness coated in angered sarcasm.

Maul snarled at them. "I command you to do this now because new factors are now being introduced," he said, venom in his voice for the purpose of putting his puppet leaders back into their proper places. "Factors who are trying to prevent you all from losing _much more_ of your power in the future. Make this sacrifice now, and your power will return in time."

Moj raised his eyebrows. "Who, you say?" he said with mocking laughter. "So you have a master of your own, then?"

Maul replied with a silent death stare, quickly informing Moj that his days were numbered.

"You will do as I command, or the consequences will be most _severe,_ " Maul finalized before ending the transmission.

Was this to be his reign? A Sith in charge of nothing but petty criminals, himself ruled by whoever chooses to? Well, there was the Mandalorian named Gar Saxon standing behind him. At least he knew his place, and at least he had worth.

Nevertheless, he was shaken. He couldn't have cared less about what the crime lords thought, they were merely a means to an end. His concern stemmed from Maul's new command to him and his kin.

His command to leave Mandalore.

It was not part of Revan's command, no, but Maul decided it would be better for his forces to withdraw than surrender or die.

Saxon merely stood at attention, his mannerisms stoic as always, but Maul could sense the conflict within him, the confusion, _anger_ , even...

But he was silent. The emotion inside was nearly swelling, but his lips never even twitched.

He was... expectant. Expectant for an explanation. Ah, yes, _that_ was his reason for silence. He _trusted_ Maul. Trusted him to have a reason for this, of course, but there was a trust beyond that, as well. He trusted Maul as his leader. He would fight and fight until his last breath for his command.

Maul was only sorry he did not take advantage of that trust sooner. Nevertheless, that trust had to be maintained for it to be of use in the future.

Maul turned his head, a gesture for Saxon to speak his mind, an action he was hesitant to speak, but after a breath, spoke nonetheless.

"This is about that Zaykanian, isn't it?" he said.

Saxon was no fool, and he proved it here once again.

Maul was to remain in charge, of course, but he would still need someone in the midst of the action to take charge under him, someone to be there with his men and deal with them personally. Saxon's trust of Maul made him a perfect candidate. As such, he needed to be aware of the situation.

"Zaykanian's motivations are not... perfectly aligned with the Jedi's or the Republic's," he spoke, his arms still clasped behind his back, but now turning to face Saxon. "They do, however, align with _my_ motivations."

"And, my lord?"

Maul considered his words for a moment. "He and I came to an arrangement," he said after a moment, walking along the room past Saxon. "I am to allow myself to be captured by Republic forces, but I will secretly be allowed to keep total control of my assets in return for accomplishing certain... goals."

Saxon furled his eyebrows, realization leading to more questions. "Such as your command to the crime syndicates?"

"Mainly, yes," Maul answered him, "although more _confidential_ matters will be attended to by myself, as well." Maul turned to face Saxon once more, locking eyes with him. "You must lead the other Mandalorians in my absence."

Saxon stood in silence for a moment, processing what Maul just said, looking off to the side before looking at Maul again.

"You're certain this will work for us?"

No. Not in the slightest.

Revan severely underestimated Sidious, believing he could manipulate the master manipulator, win a war that was rigged against Jedi like him from the start. Revan was a fool.

But alas, he was a powerful fool, and forcing Maul into his submission was simple for him. He would make an attempt to escape, but he was aware of the consequences for doing so. After all, Revan lacked the moral restraints most Jedi place on themselves, making him more dangerous than any of them ever could be.

But Saxon didn't need to know that. For now, Maul would run along with Revan's plan, of course, but he had no interest in falling vainly alongside him. He would rather be the one to say _I told you so._

Saxon, however, only needed to know the first phase, and that's what Maul told him, but it seemed this particular question required a lie - no, perhaps not. A half-truth would suit his purpose better.

"In the long run, yes, I believe it will," Maul ended up answering. "Now go; consolidate your forces for our last move."

Saxon simply bowed before leaving.

* * *

Fordo would never have guessed he would be doing this. He still didn't know why he was doing it. It wasn't even an order.

Nevertheless, he was racing his new Jedi General, Elijah Zaykanian, to a gunship. The ARC Captain was somehow barely ahead of him, though he seemed to be exerting himself far less.

It was odd from start to finish. First, the General wanted to run the training drills along with the clones. Somehow, he managed to keep up with them very well. He stayed at the head with Fordo during their jogs, making small talk and such as he practically led alongside Fordo. After some time, he managed to get everyone into a good mood despite what they were doing.

The men were in a such a good mood, in fact, that Jasper jokingly said the General should race the Captain. The General didn't quite take it as a joke, and the rest of the men quickly followed suite. Fordo was generally jolly as a rock, but even he couldn't help but get a little light-hearted due to the General's attitude.

And so, next thing he knew, he found himself sprinting just beside the Jedi, barely half a meter between them. Fordo wasn't giving it his all, though. Just enough to get him ahead, then go for a final burst just before their finish line, an LAAT/i Republic Gunship. The General was probably planning something similar, but it was no groundbreaking strategy, to be fair.

They were approximately halfway to their destination. It was to be a quick race, only a hundred meters, and Fordo could keep at a good sprint for the full distance without exerting himself too much, and it seemed the General was capable of the same.

"Having trouble keeping up with an old fella' like me, Captain?" the General teased sarcastically.

"What part of my expressions makes it look like I'm having _trouble,_ sir?" Fordo found himself teasing back.

'What expressions? You're wearing a mask!" the Jedi laughed back before they reverted their focus to the race.

A mere ten meters from the gunship, Fordo finally gave it everything he had, seeming as if he nearly doubled his speed. Unsurprisingly at this point, the General did similarly.

Fordo won, of course. It was surprising enough that the General was able to keep up so close, but either way, the training of an ARC Trooper was _far_ more rigorous than the training of a Jedi. It was a miracle there was any comparison to begin with.

"And I thought an ARC Trooper would be faster!" General Zaykanian teased, albeit out of breath.

Fordo merely shook his head. The General was an interesting fellow, to be sure.

"You boys go have breakfast, me and the General have something to discuss," Fordo called out to his men, who quickly nodded and left.

The Jedi and his Captain waited a moment for the troops to leave before Fordo spoke.

"So, uh, is this gonna become... _normal,_ sir?" Fordo asked before they were to begin.

"There a problem?" the General replied.

"No, sir. Just wondering."

Zaykanian took a moment to remove his mask, which he had been wearing throughout the entirety of the drills. "If one is to lead soldiers, he himself must _be_ a soldier, Captain."

That statement alone removed all doubt about the subject. "Very good, sir."

Zaykanian turned his mask to face him, took a rag, and began wiping off some of the dirt and grime that had gotten on it. "Maul will make a move soon. We must be ready."

"Have any idea where or when?" said Fordo, crossing his arms.

"Not at the current moment, no," Zaykanian replied, throwing the rag onto a nearby bench. "It would be wise to control that, though, wouldn't you agree?"

"Wholeheartedly, sir," replied Fordo, now crossing his arms behind his back. "What are you thinking?"

"As for when, as soon as possible," the General answered, examining his mask. "As for where... well, not overly specific there, either." He put the mask back on so he could use his hands to talk with him. "I need something enclosed, but out in the open. Something enclosed enough to give him some difficulty escaping, but also open enough to easily drop in reinforcements we may need. Any ideas?"

Fordo thought for a moment.

"The palace, sir," he said after a moment. "Big, open building with plenty of windows, right in the middle of our territory."

"Very good, but why would Maul want to go there?" Revan asked, seeming to have an answer, but interested in Fordo's input nonetheless.

"General Skywalker and Miss Tano seem to be withholding information from Prime Minister Almec's interrogation, sir," Fordo replied without missing a beat. "I recommend looking there first."

Zaykanian found himself slightly surprised by the blatant nature of Fordo's statement, but saw enough of a point to slowly, silently nod.

"I will be handling that, Captain," the General said. "You double-check everything and see if you can find any alternative locations."

"As you wish, sir."

General Zaykanian walked away a few steps before stopping, then clasping his hands behind his back.

"Things are getting set in motion, Fordo," he said in that rather typical cryptic Jedi fashion. He looked back, a smirk underneath his mask. "Exciting, isn't it?" Fordo couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

"Sure thing, sir," he replied dismissively. "Anything else to discuss?"

"Nothing for now, Captain," the General replied. Then, after a quick salute, Fordo turned and left, leaving Revan to his own planning.

* * *

No one would have guessed how depressed Revan was feeling that morning. He woke up early, ran drills with the clones, tried to have fun with them, but all he could do was hide it.

Ever since Anakin and Ahsoka confronted him about him and Bastila, he just couldn't take his mind off of her. He barely slept, remembering both their adventures together and the peaceful life they shared before _Vitiate,_ the time they loved each other as a husband and his wife before _Vitiate_ snatched it away from him, the _son_ that _Vitiate_ snatched away from his arms, a chance to redeem himself as a father snatched away by _Vitiate..._

His sadness was briefly overcome with rage. Never in his life had he felt such hatred toward anything or anyone.

He couldn't stop asking himself _why._ _Why me? Why is this necessary? Why couldn't the Sith just stay dead? Why did balance matter so much?_

Revan could have been happy. He could have left war behind and live a peaceful life with his family and friends as a respected war hero. Now he had everything taken from him and forced to fight yet _another_ war. It couldn't even be a simple matter of hacking at bad guys. He needed to be involved in politics now, the underworld, scum and villainy of all shapes and sizes, and many other behind-the-scenes tasks that were yet to be revealed, not even mentioning the issue of Anakin, and right now he found himself questioning why he burdened himself more with Ahsoka Tano.

 _Blast it,_ he needed _help._ The _least_ the Force could have done was take Meetra with him. At least she would have-

No. That was selfish. He could handle the task on his own, there was no need to take another down with him, especially one who had gone trough all that Meetra had gone through.

Even so, he was so _alone._ After all Revan had seen, how much hopelessness he had felt at times, the mental strain and even reset at one point with the further stress and crises that that created, he was left a far more shattered man than most people knew.

This was honestly precisely why he married Bastila so soon after the war. He loved her, of course, but he desperately needed that shoulder to lean on after having lacked one for most of his life.

He never got along all too well with Meetra, with their stark moral contrasts and all, and while Malak was often the one who kept the two from splitting up entirely, he wasn't exactly the huggable type, to put it mildly.

Revan, Jedi Master, Dark Lord of the Sith, Butcher of Mandalore, the Prodigal Knight and savior of the Republic, just wanted a blasted _hug._

It was frustrating.

Revan took a deep breath and cleared his mind. Well, he tried to, but the best he could do was suppress it for now. This wasn't the time to release it.

He crossed his legs, closed his eyes, wiped away some loose tears, and began to take slow, rhythmic breaths, in his nose and out his mouth.

He searched for purpose. Eventually, he found it.

He preached so often about sacrifice and how necessary it was to achieve what you wanted, yet here he was, unable to fully handle it himself.

It was difficult. It always would be, it seemed. But his cause would alleviate the suffering of so many others, and so he chose to keep striving through it all. Perhaps a good death would make it all worth it in the end. Ensure that this war would be his last. That he would see Bastila again.

He interrupted his rhythmic breathing with a quiet laugh. Here he was, thinking about how nice death would be. He truly wasn't the man he once was. But then, perhaps this new man was what the galaxy needed.

The struggles he endured would grant him strength, and he knew that. He needed to embody strength itself so those who followed him would have it, too.

Using the Force, he pulled his mask back into his hand, and put it on again.

That was who he was. That mask was his face. And so he slid back into that identity. One of practicality, of intelligence and wisdom, of a leader.

It seemed to be what was needed at that exact moment as a missile flew overhead. Clones began shouting orders at each other, blasters began going off, and Revan got up and ignited a green lightsaber.

The end of the siege was near.

Maul was making his move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Revan's sad, stuff is happening, and Anakin and Ahsoka are getting curious about what Revan's hiding. I'm thinking this arc will be wrapped up in the next chapter with an interlude following that, but I suppose we'll all have to wait and see. Please feel free to leave a comment, and may the Force be with you :)


	15. Mandalore at War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, this took longer than you and I were hoping, but I think it works. You know why? These chapters are usually around 4,000 words at the most. This one nearly reaches 6,000.
> 
> Enjoy.

Anakin, Ahsoka, Captain Rex, and Bo-Katan stood on a balcony, overlooking the streets below. The once proud streets of Mandalore, once filled with lights, art, and bustling crowds, now in flames and covered in rubble, it's famous artwork smeared in crates and marks of fire.

On these streets were clone soldiers, each one of them unhappily escorting grumbling citizens to their designated shelters, shelters many of them expected to be used in their lifetimes. Some said it was because the deaths Mandalore had caused was now come to haunt them.

Not one of these four looked on carelessly. Bo-Katan saw her people, lowly and oppressed, being pushed around by whoever came next. Anakin and Ahsoka were Jedi, at least at heart in Ahsoka's case, and wanted nothing more than for these people's troubles to be over. Captain Rex found himself failing to see a point in everything transpiring here - or in the whole Clone War, for that matter.

Eventually, they didn't care to look any longer, and retreated inside the former palace, which itself was once a place of simple beauty, and now, after nearly a year of being trodden by the most vile of crime lords in the galaxy, felt more dead than the surface outside the city.

Bo-Katan shook her head, helmet in hand. "This occupation cannot last much longer," she said. "The people will not stand for it." The door into the palace opened and closed to let them through. " _I_ will not stand for it."

"You asked for our help," Anakin spoke up. "Trust me, we want out of here, too, but we have things to accomplish first. But believe me, as soon as Maul is ours, we'll be out of here."

"Once Maul's been captured," Ahsoka continued as they entered the main hall of the palace, "I assure you, you will have your opportunity to lead."

"I agree!"

The voice wasn't theirs.

Bo-Katan didn't hesitate to drop her helmet, draw her pistols and attack when she saw Darth Maul on the seat that once belonged to her sister.

Almost toyfully, Maul swept aside blaster bolts with motions of his hand before holding Bo-Katan in the air. It was evident that he was enjoying himself.

"My lady, is _that_ any way to treat your rightful ruler?" he said with a sadistic sarcasm before letting her go, allowing her to concede.

Besides him was Jesse, the missing ARC Trooper, his armor stripped from him, save for his kama and some leg pieces, and his hands were cuffed. Anakin looked in distaste, albeit he was about as pleasantly surprised as he could be in this situation be Maul's next words.

Less sadistically, he spoke again, "Now, as a show of good faith, I return your comrade in arms to you." With another sweep of his hand, the binders fell off the ARC Trooper, who looked on in confused fear.

"Run along," Maul said mockingly, as if he spoke to a pet animal. "There you go! Back to your brothers."

Jesse limped over, but as Rex and Ahsoka comforted him, Anakin and Bo-Katan only stared spitefully at Maul. He returned only a savage grin.

Leaning his brother against his arm, Rex left to carry Jesse away to Kix the medic, leaving just the two Jedi and Bo-Katan.

The three stared in silence at the red-striped Zabrak Sith Lord before explosions went off outside. It seemed Maul had a plan of his own, and his satisfied grin only affirmed it.

But while Ahsoka was distracted by everything transpiring around her, Anakin kept his focus on Maul, and he felt something else in his mind, something hidden.

Fear.

Anakin couldn't help but grin himself, which seemed to catch Maul off guard, who quickly turned to a snarl before looking to Bo-Katan.

"One of you might want to deal with that," he said about the battle outside, clearly indicating to Bo-Katan.

Anakin looked to her himself. "Go. We'll handle this." As she hesitantly left, Anakin removed his robe in preparation for an inevitable fight.

Suddenly, Maul was in less control than he seemed. He clearly saw something in the Chosen One, something that made him realize he may not have been fully prepared.

When Bo-Katan left the room to help direct the defense, Maul arose form his seat and stared down at the two Jedi.

"So, you're Kenobi's apprentice, then," he said, walking down the stairs slowly, his eyes locked on Skywalker, his hands clasped behind his back. "A shame he could not have come himself, I had _great plans_ for the both of you."

"Obi-Wan had more important things to do," Anakin replied with a grin. "Like _budget meetings_ with the Jedi Council."

Maul returned only a snarl. "It would seem the apple that is Kenobi's wit has not fallen far from the tree, Skywalker," he said, his voice raised. "Nevertheless, let's not waste time bantering amongst ourselves." He sat back in the throne. "There is a _reason_ I am here, after all."

"Care to tell us what that reason is?" Ahsoka said firmly.

Maul chuckled demeaningly. "Tell me, Jedi," he said, "what is this war to you?"

"A fight to to bring people like you to justice," said Ahsoka, her voice filled with a certain just confidence.

"Justice?" Maul imitated mockingly. "Justice is simply a tool utilized by the ones in power, and you will find that those heads will be exchanged _very_ soon."

"And Darth Sidious will be the one behind it?" said Ahsoka.

Maul turned to them with fire in his eyes. "He has been behind _everything_ since the beginning," he snarled. His voice slowly rising, he continued, "Under _your_ very noses, he has pulled every string, controlled every pawn, and now, a thousand years of manipulation by the Order of the Sith Lords shall come to fruition before our very eyes!"

Anakin took a breath and let the Jedi in him rise up again. "The Jedi can and will stop him, Maul," he said. "Help us, and you can come out all the better before it's too late."

"Too late!?" Maul mocked. "For _what?_ For the Republic to fall? It fell the moment this war began, the moment the Jedi allowed the Dark Lord of the Sith to walk among them as a predator amongst the flock! The only _justice_ the galaxy will achieve will be what its new ruler shall command!"

Hearing boots drop onto the ground, the two Jedi looked behind them to see Mandalorians dropping from the ceiling, armed with blasters and vibroblades. Half a dozen were on the ground with more to come when they turned to look back at Maul, who was now slowly walking toward them, lightsaber in hand.

"The Jedi cannot defeat Sidious," he said, igniting two crimson blades from his double-ended hilt. "No, they shall only _quicken_ his rise."

Anakin and Ahsoka ignited their blue lightsabers and stood back-to-back as Maul and the Mandalorians encircled them.

"Just like old time, Snips," Anakin said, the sudden opposition only lightening his mood.

"Let's try to _end_ it like old times, Skyguy," Ahsoka teased back.

Anakin's blade crossed Maul's, the Mandalorians charged Ahsoka, and the fight began.

* * *

Revan wasn't expecting this attack so soon. Frankly, if he did expect it, he wouldn't have had that... _emotional overload_ of his a few minutes ago. People tended to assume he was only joking when he said he was like that some times, though calling it "tactical emotion timing" all the time likely didn't help.

Nevertheless, the inevitable attack was here, and Revan found himself without a plan at that current moment, nor did he really have the intel to formulate one yet.

The Mandalorian attack seemed to have no clear rhyme or reason, save for the evident focus on Republic military assets. Revan would rather they had not crippled a nearby AT-TE, but he could still work. He just needed more data.

Not really something to be found while deflecting blaster bolts and cutting down these renewed Mandalorians, of course. He needed to deal with the current area before moving on to the bigger picture.

Luckily for him, Muunilinst-10 was there, and every shot of their blasters cemented them further as the best of the best within the clone trooper ranks. Nevertheless, they were still fighting Mandalorians, and that did come with its challenges.

Many of the warriors coming at them were far more skilled and experienced than the majority of the clones, who barely had an advantage in numbers, either - in this area, anyway. From what he could tell, this was a multi-pronged attack, complicating the matter.

The battle was out in the open, with little cover to protect the clones, giving the Mandalorians free reign in the firefight. The Republic was fighting on the enemy's terms. Revan would have to adjust that.

It would likely involve a retreat. Revan knew that. Terrain was very important. The question was _where_ they would go.

Just about every Mandalorian there had a jetpack, meaning they could get places quicker than any of the clones could, meaning the better strategic position they needed would have to be nearby in order for them to get there before the enemy could follow them.

Revan's train of thought was briefly interrupted by a Mandalorian with a vibroblade. It served only as an annoyance, of course; his foe was cut down before he could even swing his blade.

Revan took about five seconds to quickly survey the area. There were multiple alleyways leading to other parts of the city. Alleyways were particularly easy to defend, but the Mandalorians could still fly above them and flank them.

The inside of a building, however, could limit their movement. Confine them to a doorway while puckering them with blaster fire.

Problem was, it could trap them, as well, so something with a back door was quite vital so he could re-link with the main attack force.

Mandalorians were certainly difficult to fight. He was going to need Jedi support to minimize casualties.

"Fordo!" he called out to the Captain. "Where's Skywalker and Tano?"

"Unknown, sir!" he called back, ending a fistfight with a Mandalorian by breaking his opponents neck before running over to his General.

"Then find out!" Revan ordered. "What about Merrick?"

"Fighting somewhere else, sir," Fordo replied. "I'll get his exact location now."

"Very good," Revan replied. "I intend to link up after we finish here."

Fordo gunned down another Mandalorian getting too close for comfort, uninterested in another fistfight. "Any plans for that, sir?"

Revan deflected a trio of blaster bolts in two motions of his lightsaber. "I'm figuring a retreat through a building would do us well."

"Well put, sir," Fordo replied. "Might I suggest calling in gunships to cover us?"

"The extra firepower would so us well, good call," Revan replied. _Now why didn't I think of that?_

"Very good, sir." The ARC Captain blasted a Mandalorian out of the sky. "I'll have Zillo find us an escape route before I call in those gunships."

A barrage of automatic blaster fire suddenly reminded them they were still in a firefight. Fordo took a moment to give orders to the necessary specialists before resuming fire on the enemy.

* * *

 _"This is NOT like old times!"_ yelled out Ahsoka, struggling to keep the three Mandalorians off of her. Maul _clearly_ didn't call on the scrubs she was used to dealing with.

 _"Yeah, yeah, I know!"_ yelled back Anakin. On his own, while still being a challenge, Maul was no match for Anakin. With four Mandalorians assisting him, armed with blasters and vibroblades, it became a little much.

And there were still several more, either ready to pounce or supporting with blaster fire. The duo almost wished Rex or Fordo was there to support them - hell, both of them would come in handy, these were _clearly_ Mandalorian elites.

If there weren't so _many_ , the pair wouldn't have had so much difficulty, of course. They would have no trouble dispatching aa dozen Battle Droid, for instance; dispatching a couple hundred was a different story.

In neither case, however, was it impossible for them to come out on top, and Ahsoka quickly reminded herself of this when she managed to catch a hole in one of the Mandalorian's defense and ended him with a stab into his heart.

She had to admit she died a little inside when two more rushed to replace him. Nevertheless, she fought on with an infuriated grunt.

Anakin, meanwhile, was fortunate enough to deflect two stabs one-hundred-and-eighty degrees apart with a single spin of his lightsaber before he had to block a strike from Maul.

The Zabrak caught him in a momentary saber lock, but uninterested in the conversation that usually followed such a move, he used a Force-amplified kickto knock the former Sith back a few meters.

Taking advantage of his small window, he grabbed the wrist of one of the Mandalorians with his mechanical hand and squeezed the vibroblade form his hand. Letting go of the wrist, Anakin took the vibroblade in his own hand and finished off its former wielder with it.

Anakin smirked as Maul growled at him. This would certainly help matters.

* * *

"General!" called out Zillo.

"Lieutenant!" called back Revan.

The ARC Lieutenant ran over to the Jedi, and the two quickly took cover behind some rubble.

"I've found us an exit," Zillo said, then pointed to an archway. "I know you asked for a building, sir, but that alleyway is relatively covered up, by the looks of it, so we should achieve a similar effect."

A grenade landed right next t them, which Zillo instinctively grabbed and threw away before looking to Revan again for approval.

Revan took a moment to briefly survey the alleyway himself. It was only wide enough for the troopers to pass through two-by-two, but the gunship support should give them enough time to get out with minimal casualties - as minimal as they can get with Mandalorians, anyway.

"Tell Fordo to call in those gunships and begin subtly positioning troops for retreat," Revan ordered. "What do we have in terms of stationary weapons?"

"Some E-Web's, sir," Zillo replied. "The Z-6 rotary cannons should also come in handy."

"Prepare them all for quick transport, we'll need them later," ordered Revan, peeking over the rubble to analyze the battlefield further while Zillo contacted Fordo.

* * *

A Mandalorian helmet flew across the room, the head occupying it having fallen out seconds ago, severed by Ahsoka Tano's lightsaber. One less problem out of five for her.

Anakin was still having much difficulty regardless of the vibroblade, though it did come in handy more than once.

Maul, however, was still a problem when in combination with the others, of course. Oh, how would they deal with all of them? This wasn't exactly a situation where they could call for reinforcements...

Anakin focused on a singular Mandalorian to begin a new strategy. Breaching his defenses with a series of powerful strikes, he eventually managed to cut him down and leap a few meters from the fight.

There were still three Mandos left besides Maul, and he still had to deflect the shots coming from the sharpshooters above. The sharpshooters above...

Anakin had an idea.

He and Obi-Wan had a series of hand signs they would frequently use when shouting the plan at each other wasn't exactly appropriate for their situation. He and Ahsoka eventually developed a similar system. It was mostly usable by the time Ahsoka left the Order, and it seemed it was appropriate now.

Deflecting a blaster bolt at Ahsoka's feet, Anakin got Ahsoka's attention for a moment. He made a few motions of his hand and pointed up. Ahsoka signed back that it was a bad plan, but Anakin returned that there was no time to argue. Reluctantly, Ahsoka conceded and jumped several meters into the air and grabbed on to a chandelier to begin her new task: take out the sharpshooters while Anakin deals with everyone on the ground.

Come to think of it, it probably was a bad plan. Nothing he wasn't used to, of course.

* * *

As Revan charged his lightsaber through a Mandalorians, front-flipped, and threw his saber into another, he came to realize that the gunship support he was promised should be here by now.

"Where are those gunships, Captain?" he shouted out as he redirected a rocket.

"Change of plans, we won't be getting them, sir," Fordo shouted back.

Revan paused a moment in sheer disappointment. " _What?_ "

"Don't worry, sir," Fordo called back, his tone as positive as one as monotone as he could get. "We're getting a suitable replacement."

Frustrated, he threw his saber into a hostile running by. "Like _what?_ "

A roar of repulsor lifts could be heard from a nearby alleyway. Revan looked to his left to see a trio of hovering tanks zooming in, dual cannons on either side with a beam cannon mounted on top with a gunner behind it.

"TX-130 Saber Tanks, sir," Fordo replied calmly. Suitable replacement, indeed.

Using rockets, laser cannons, and the aforementioned beam cannon, the Saber Tanks quickly forced the enemy into disarray, giving Revan the opportunity he needed to reposition.

"All troopers, move through the marked location," Revan ordered through his comlink after marking the covered alley through the device on his wrist. "Double time, let's go, let's go! Move!"

The clones moved swiftly, heavy gunners helping to cover them, as protocol dictated, and the tanks and newly-placed E-Web turrets blocked the Mandalorians from pursuit.

A tank swooped by and dropped a 501st officer off before Revan. "General, sir," he saluted.

Revan couldn't put a finger on his name. "Yes, Commander...?"

"Rex, sir."

"Yes, Commander Rex," Revan repeated. "Any info on Skywalker and Tano's location?"

"That's why I'm here, sir," Rex replied. "They've engaged Maul."

Revan jolted his head back. "They what now?" That wasn't precisely what he had in mind, but it could work.

"He confronted us at the palace, sir," Rex continued. At least he went according to Revan's plan location-wise. "Myself and Bo-Katan were there, too, but the attack diverted our attention."

"I... see." Revan held his chin in hand, giving the news a moment of thought.

"If you plan on joining them, I recommend gathering some reinforcements," Rex stated. "I heard some blaster fire form within the palace, Maul may have brought reinforcements."

"Luckily for them, I was already planning on picking up Merrick," Revan replied. "We'll get him out, move in together, and finish this." He turned around to face Fordo, who was standing behind him. "Gonna take off soon, Captain. Think you can handle the rest?"

"Absolutely, sir," Fordo replied.

"Very good, let's go."

With Revan, Fordo, and Rex's departure, the clones were now finished retreating. Now to link up with Sedyn Merrick.

* * *

Reaching the perches the sharpshooters sat securely on was difficult, especially when they figured out what Ahsoka was doing and tried to stop her. Nevertheless, it wasn't impossible, and they were poorly prepared for when she got close.

That didn't change the fact that it took advanced acrobatics and parkour aided by the Force to get close to begin with.

And as expected, Anakin wasn't having a fun time with a nearly tripled amount of hostiles. The only reason he stood an actual chance was because there was literally not enough room for them all to attack at once. As such, they practically took turns jabbing at the Chosen One. And the Chosen One was starting to have just about enough.

Rapidly killing two Mandalorians with his lightsaber and the vibroblade, Anakin gained a moment of focus in an arena where he stood alone against his enemies.

He pulled his arms in, calling on the Force, the power he wielded. And then, outstretching his arms, his every opponent was sent flying back, some into walls, some out the large window nearby, and some onto the floor. Maul, bracing his arms, struggled to stay his ground.

Out of the dozen Mandalorians Anakin tossed aside, only 5 got up.

They all stood in a circle for a moment. The Mandalorians stood in silence, their weapons ready. Maul and Anakin locked eyes with fiery intensity.

"After all the Jedi have done to you," Maul venomously said, "you continue to fight for them."

"To be fair, the Sith did a lot worse for _you,_ " Anakin replied. "And just look at what you're doing."

Maul scoffed humorously at Skywalker's remark. "How little you know," he said as he flurried his blade.

Ahsoka dropped down behind them, and a few Mandalorians turned their attention to her.

She quickly moved into a combat stance, and Maul looked back, annoyed.

A few more moments of staring went by, and soon, the fight was renewed.

* * *

Sedyn was found fighting alongside Bo-Katan. Frankly, their situation was far nicer than Revan's, of course, _because I can't have anything nice when two people pick up some blasters and decide to go to war._

They were positioned behind the cover of positioned boxes, sandbags, and whatever else they could get with AT-TE's behind them providing fire support support. The enemy still proved a challenge, of course, but they were making no considerable progress at first glance.

Revan, of course, knew they were probably planning something. A flanking maneuver, most likely, perhaps air support, which the area seemed poorly prepared for.

The Saber Tank Revan was riding swooped by and dropped him off with the rest of the soldiers, clones and allied Mandalorians alike. An advantage, to be sure, but he was quite sure they would rather charge the line than wait behind improvised barricades, peeking blasterfire over.

"Merrick!" Revan called out.

"Zaykanian?" Sedyn called back. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking to set up a bed and breakfast, that hill over there looks _lovely,"_ Revan snarked in response, pointing to a pile of rubble that was once a building.

Sedyn lowered his shoulders and sighed.

"Looking to link up with the Jedi," Revan stated, seriously this time. "Gonna need some support - namely, you and whoever else I can get."

"Ah," Sedyn nodded. "Well, there's a slight problem." Sedyn turned to look at the situation before him. "We need to clear these guys out, we're all that stands between them and the evac center."

Naturally. "Ah, side missions delaying the actual important things I need to do, _how nostalgic!_ " Revan sighed, his frustration quite obvious.

"Those tanks will help, of course," said Sedyn, not all too happy either. "They won't do everything, though."

Revan just stared, arms crossed, forcing Sedyn to gulp and look away. He shook his head. "Let me think."

The thought to throw the AT-TE at them was all too tempting right now, but that would hardly help, truth be told. Attempting gunship support again would likely help, but they were probably also still occupied, and were hardly reliable in this particular circumstance, due to the need to drive the enemy out of a more enclosed space than cover a retreat in an open one.

There were roughly a hundred hostiles in front of them, holding their ground. It became more and more likely in Revan's mind that this was only part of the strategy. He needed intel.

"Captain Fordo!" Revan called out. "Intel report, STAT."

"Yes, sir. A moment," Fordo saluted back before firing orders back at his own men.

Revan took the few minutes they needed to survey the battlefield some more. He had a strong gut feeling that something was amiss. These were not ordinary Mandalorian tactics.

Perhaps Maul was foolish enough to defy his command. He was _originally_ going to go easy on him during his capture, but it would seem that was about to change.

Back to the matter at hand, Fordo had an intel report ready.

"Mandos seem to be holing up like this wherever they can, sir," the ARC Captain reported. "I hope I'm not the only one who finds this unusual."

"You're absolutely not alone, Captain."

Why were Mandalorians, of all people, setting up positions and staying put instead of charging into battle? Holding positions...

Were they trying to _delay_ them? Revan snapped his fingers " _Of course they are,"_ he whispered just loud enough for Fordo to hear.

Maul was trying to keep Revan away from him as long as he could.

That meant he needed to move forward immediately.

No one was outsmarting him today.

* * *

"Couldn't take us alone, Maul?" Anakin mocked, the battle now having turned in his favor and Maul's saber locked with his own.

"Do not think I will take foolish chances!" Maul reached out his hand, using the Force to bolster his strength as he pulled down the chandelier hanging directly above them.

As it crashed, the two leaped directly away from each other just in time.

"We stand now at the end of the galaxy as we know it, ' _Chosen One',_ " Maul cried out. "You are not the galaxy's salvation, but its _damnation!"_

With his final words as a battle-cry, Maul spun and charged forward with a downward slash. Anakin blocked, and Maul continued with savage and unpredictable attacks, yet with a sense of strategy behind them. Nevertheless, Anakin didn't let his guard break once.

Ahsoka found a level of challenge in the remaining Mandalorians, but their resolve was clearly weakened after seeing so many comrades defeated. Nonetheless, they fought vigorously and with honor, but so did Ahsoka.

Suddenly, one of the combatants threw his vibroblade at Ahsoka, then without warning threw flame from his wrist.

Ahsoka used the Force to pull herself back just in the nick of time, but she still found herself on the ground and with 5 Mandalorians charging her.

* * *

"Lady Bo-Katan," Revan called over, having found her fighting alongside her men.

"What is it, Zaykanian?" she bluntly replied.

"I need you to order your men to charge over the edge and assault the enemy position," Revan replied.

Bo-Katan was a little surprised to hear this.

"I trust you know why we're positioned here and have a _reason_ to abandon it?"

Revan gestured over to the enemy. "You Mandalorians generally prefer more aggressive tactics to holding cover and positions, yes?" Bo-Katan tilted her head, waiting for his point.

"So why would these ones - and as intel reports, many, many more - hold positions and slowly try to remove us instead of charging through us and to their objective?"

Bo-Katan was starting to see now. "They're trying to keep _us_ from moving."

"Precisely, and I - _we_ \- have more important places to be, don't we?"

Bo-Katan nodded. "My men have been itching to get out of here anyway."

"That's the spirit," he said before turning to Fordo. "Prepare for attack."

"With pleasure, sir."

"Troopers!" Revan shouted with power and authority. "This is the land of your blood! The home of your ancestors! It is just as much your home as it is the home of the men and women fighting alongside you today! It is your home just as much as Kamino!" He climbed on top of one of the improvised barricades to help his voice carry and heighten his stature.

"The fate of Mandalore this day will decide the fates of countless worlds in the future. Understand this, and follow me to victory!" The clones stood and listened intently to their leader.

Revan still remembered the first day he did this, back at the battle of Dxun. There was a last assault necessary for victory on the planet, but the troops were tired, worn, and hopeless.

Meetra Surik was the first to rise up and speak her words, then he. They held their lightsabers in the air proudly, declaring what the Republic forces had so far done on the moon with so little, that despite the sacrifices they endured, they came out on top each time. He and Meetra spoke so _proudly_ about them that he swears to this day that the words they spoke were the only reason Dxun was restored to the Republic.

And now he did the same here, encouraging troopers in a battle they thought to be pointless, raising their spirits in a time of what they thought to be needless sacrifice. And he loved every second of it.

Because, for at least a few minutes in his life of evil for the greater good, he felt like a hero.

"Now charge over these barriers and show our enemy who leads this galaxy in these times and why they are worthy to do so!" Revan continued. "I have seen what Mandalorians are capable of, and that is why I know the Republic will succeed, for YOU ARE MANDALORE!"

A roar of battle cries erupted from the clones, and already they began climbing over whatever was in their way to show their enemy what they were capable of.

"Saber Tanks in front!" Revan ordered. "Everyone else, follow! For the Republic! For Mandalore!"

Allied Mandalorians and clone troopers alike followed in his battle cry as he led the charge, lightsaber forward and the tanks moving ahead of them.

It is said that not a single casualty was suffered during that small charge that many marked to be the beginning of Revan's new legend.

* * *

_What to do, what to do..._

She was on the ground, and subsequently, her guard was down. This wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't five Mandalorians charging her. Ahsoka needed to think fast.

The enemy was now in stabbing range. Using a combination of rolls and improvised blocking techniques, she managed to stay alive long enough to roll away form the fight and quickly jump back up.

It left a quick hole in her defense for just a moment, however, and one of her attackers nearly stabbed abdomen if it wasn't for a quick side step. Unfortunately for him, the attack left his back turned to her, and Ahsoka quickly dropped him with a stab into his spinal cord.

Anakin, meanwhile, had the upper hand against Maul, to no real surprise. A fallen Sith Lord was an equal for your average Knight, but Anakin was a few steps above your average Knight. Maul was wavering; the fight would be over soon.

With a leap, Ahsoka flew over the heads of her opponents and quickly took one of them with her.

When she spun back around into attack position, there were three left, and they didn't seem to be in a fighting mood any longer. As such, they quickly darted to the door as Ahsoka smirked.

The tables were flipped, and now Maul was outnumbered.

He and Anakin ceased their fight as he looked on to now two opponents all to himself.

These two were far stronger than Maul anticipated, and now it was costing him.

But hope was not yet lost for him. He backed up, slowly.

"Come quietly, Maul," Anakin demanded. "I'm sure you'd hate to lose your legs a _second_ time."

"There's no way out of this!" added Ahsoka.

"Not _quite,_ " Maul smirked.

Maul revealed a metallic cylinder in his hand. But before the two Jedi could do anything...

_BOOM._

The explosion that went off between them took them off their feet, and if they had not been Jedi, they likely would not have survived. But it did its job regardless.

By the time Anakin got up, Maul had already climbed up to a window above the throne, ready to jump to his next destination. But first, he stopped. Stopped to look on the Chosen One.

He didn't speak. He only looked, hatred always in his eyes.

He was turning around to jump when a bolt of lightning sent him flying back into the other end of the palace. Within a moment, Revan landed in the center of the room.

Maul groaned and got up, igniting his saberstaff for a final stand. Revan only ignited a single green blade in response.

Revan readied himself into a Makashi stance before Maul lunged forward to attack. Revan elegantly deflected each strike.

Spinning out of the way, Revan quickly disarmed Maul and used the Force to slam him into a wall as Anakin and Ahsoka simply watched, somewhat entertained after the... _difficulties_ Maul just put them through. Not quite the Jedi way, but no one had to know.

Even more not the Jedi way was Revan pulling a small DC-17 blaster from under his cape to quickly stun Maul.

Revan then looked at the two clearly worn and tired Jedi, then at the result of their battle, with Mandalorians strewn across the floor.

Then he looked back at them. "Had fun?" he said casually.

"You could say that," replied Anakin tiredly.

A squad of ARC Troopers swarmed the room, accompanied by Merrick, ready for a fight but finding none.

Sedyn hung back his head and looked at Revan, quite annoyed. "Why did you call me if you didn't need me?"

"I didn't say I _needed_ you, I just said I _might_ need you," Revan replied.

"No, you said you _needed_ me," Sedyn corrected.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Revan dismissed before turning to Fordo. "Get something to restrain him immediately."

"We already have something ready for him," Sedyn interjected. "I'll go get it"

"Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen," Revan declared, arms clasped behind his back. "We got him."


End file.
